How we present search results
By default, search results are presented in order of relevance: that is, an order decided by the search engine based on comparisons of similarity and frequency of the term appearing within the text contributions.
You can change the sort order by using the links to the top right of the search results: 'Most recent first' sorts the list of results to show the most recently dated contributions first and 'Earliest first' sorts to show the oldest dated contributions first.
The search engine will recognise certain sorts of queries and offer links based on them: for example -
Andrew Rosindell
will bring up a link to that MP
How you can use the search function on this site
By default our search engine gives results that are somewhat fuzzy: a search for
nation
will give results that also include the word
nationalism
or the word
nationally.
You can
make the search more fuzzy
by using the
~
sign: for example -
sat~
will give results that include the word
rat,
oats
and
cat.
All searches are
case-insensitive.
A search for
LONDON
returns the same results as a search for
london.
If you search for two or more words, the search engine will assume you want all of the words to be present in the results. For example, if you search for
NATO Spain
the search engine will search for text containing both words,
NATO
and
Spain.
If you want to
search for either word,
you can use the word
OR
in the search text box to join the words together: for example
NATO OR Spain.
This will search for text containing either the word
NATO
or the word
Spain.
You can
exclude a term
from your search using the
-
sign: for example:
London -Greater
will search for text containing the word
london
which does not contain the word
greater.
If you want to
search for a phrase,
you can use the
+
sign in the search text box to join the words together: for example
peace+treaty.
This will search for text containing the word
peace,
followed afterwards by the word
treaty.
You can search for a word marking a
single missing letter
with a
?:
for example -
l?nch
will give results that include the word
lunch,
lynch
or
linch.
Multiple missing letters
can be marked with a
*:
for example -
dev*nt
will give results that include the word
devrient,
development
or
deviant.
The search engine can recognise a standard
Hansard reference,
such as:
HC Deb 19 July 1982 vol 28 cc58-9W
and will take you straight to where the reference points to, if we have the data.
Faceted search
Where available, a link to "Filter results by speaker or house" will be shown. Using the links provided, you can build a search query as you go: you can add or remove 'facets' - and the search results will be updated to take account of them. You can also bookmark a faceted search result set.
Faceted search allows complex queries to be built up without requiring complex search forms. Facets that lead to empty result sets are not shown.