Word search

You can find the records anywhere in the database that contain specified text by using a word search. You do not need to know which field the text might occur in.

In addition to finding specific words you can also use the following to broaden your search:

Synonyms - words that have the same meaning

Synonyms are lists of words such that whenever you specify a particular word to search for, all the relevant words on the synonyms list are also searched for. The synonyms list might contain all the words that have the same meaning; for example, synonyms for Firearm might be: Firearm, Shotgun, Rifle, Hand gun, Revolver, Pistol. The lists are pre-defined in the database design, so you cannot change them here. However, you can see which synonyms are searched for.

Soundex - words that sound the same

Soundex means that words that sound the same as your specified word are also searched for. For example, using Soundex you might specify 'check' and find 'cheque'.

Any words added to the database since the database administrator last generated the Word Search index will not be found. The date when the index was last updated is shown. If you need to see details of how the index is defined, click Index on the Enter Words page.

Use the:

  • Enter Words page if you are interested in specific words (or synonyms or similar sounding words) and where they appear.

  • Word Index page if you are more interested in how frequently words occur in the database.

Finding records containing specific words

Use the Enter Words page if you are interested in specific words (or synonyms or similar sounding words) and where they appear:

  1. Select Analysis > Word Search.

  2. In the Word Search dialog, click the Enter Words tab to display the Enter words page.

  3. Click the Search for box and enter one or more words to search for, separating words with spaces. You can use wildcards to broaden the search. The search ignores the lettercase. It might exclude certain other things, such as entirely numeric values. See 'What you can and cannot search' below for details.

  4. In the Combine area, select one of the following:

    • And - the record must contain all your specified words or synonyms of those words if the User Defined checkbox is turned on in the Synonyms area.

    • Or - the record must contain at least one of your words, or one of the synonyms if the User Defined checkbox in the Synonyms area is turned on.

  5. In the Type area, select either Normal or Soundex (includes similar-sounding words).

    Note: A list of words appears whenever any member of the list is specified in the Search for box. All of these words are searched for, in addition to the specified words.

  6. If you want the search words to be highlighted in any records found by the word search, turn on the Highlight Words Found checkbox.

  7. Click Search. Any records that contain the search words are then displayed. The records are identified by their label as defined in the current labeling scheme.

Finding by word frequency

Follow these steps if you are interested in how frequently words occur in the database:

  1. In the Word Search dialog, click the Word Index tab to display the Word Index page.

  2. Select Occurrences and then either Most or Least (frequent).

  3. Specify how many words to list; use the upper button next to the number of words to increase it; use the lower button to decrease it. Alternatively, just click the box and type into it.

  4. Click Find. The word list will show the most or least frequently occurring words. No records are found as a result of this step.

    Note: It is possible to exclude unwanted words such as "of", "for", and "from" from your search results. Ask your database administrator to set up an exclusion list.

  5. In the list of words, select one of the words and then click Search for highlighted word to find the records that contain the selected word. The number of records that will be found is shown in the Count column.

Finding using the beginnings of words

Follow these steps to find records containing words that start with specific characters:

  1. In the Word Search dialog, click the Word Index.

  2. Select Beginning with if you want to find words that start with your specified characters.

  3. Click the box and type in the starting characters. As you type, the word list shows the matching words and their frequency. No records are found as a result of this step.

  4. In the list of words, select an entry and click Search for highlighted word to find the records that contain the selected word. The number of records that will be found is shown in the Count column.