This website allows you to perform two different kinds of search. If you just want to search the publications website then click on the 'Search publications' tab next to the 'Help' tab. The search page will allow you to search for publications released between two dates, by audience and by publication type (e.g. press release). You can also search the publications site by going to the homepage and clicking on any category or show all publications. The search box is on the right-hand side of the page.
Once you search has been completed you will be presented your results and the ability to view these results by audience, publication type or for specific dates. If your search contains too many results you can search within these results using another search term. This option is on the left-hand side beneath the search dates option.
The search box at the top right-hand side of all the pages on the site will search the main Department for Education website. If you click on the advanced search button you can also search by date, audience and type.
By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query. If that happens a short message is displayed at the top of the search results indicating this has been done.
In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behaviour:
Phrase search
The search engine supports three types of phrase search.
- To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
Example: "free search engine"
- To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [around the words]
Example: [free search engine]
- To match a far (within several words) phrase, use braces { around the words }
Example: {free search engine}
+ and – qualifiers
If you prepend a word with + that word is required to be on the page. If you prepend a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
Example: +always -never
* wildcard
If a query word ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that query word will match.
Example: gift*
? wildcard
If a query word contains a ? any character will match that position.
Example: b?g
Boolean search
You can use the following boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators MUST be in capital letters.
Example: (contact AND us) OR (about AND us).
If you require further help please contact us:
Email: online.publications@prolog.co.uk
Telephone: 0845 60 222 60
