Search Help

Keywords

Type a keyword or phrase into the Keyword box, located at the top of the search form to the left, and click the Search button to the right of the box to search for resources.

Using Quotes

Grouping keywords by quotation marks, "", gives you results that exactly match that quoted phrase with the words in that order. Not using quotation marks will return search results regardless of the order of the search words.

Note that phrases placed in quotes are treated as a single word by the search. This distinction is important when mixing words in quotes with other keywords. If you type '"medal of honor" speak' into the Keyword Box and select to match all words, results will only be returned that contain both the phrase "medal of honor" and "speak", regardless of their order within the resource. If you type into the Keyword Box '"medal of honor" speak' and select to match any words, results will be returned that contain just the phrase "medal of honor," just the word "speak," and all entries that contain both.

Excluding Keywords

You may also ensure that results do not contain a specific word by using the NOT operator. For example, searching for 'Benefits NOT Medical' will return all resources that contain the word Benefits and do not contain the word Medical. If your search includes a subset of resources that you are not interested in, using the NOT operator provides an easy way to filter out these results.

Location

In addition to specific keywords or phrases, you can also enter the name of a city, state, or zip code in the Location box, located below the Keyword box, to find resources near that location that match the keyword or phrase entered in the Keyword box. Please note that entering a Location is not required in order to search for resources.

If you choose to enter a Location, you can search for resources within a particular radius of that location by choosing a value in the "within x miles of" field, which is located directly above the Location box. Please note that this field only applies to city and zip code searches; if you enter a state as your location the radius selection will not apply and the search will only return resources located within that state.

Search Options

Type of Resource

This field allows you to select whether you would like your search to return Government resources, Non-Government resources, or both. Government resources represent links to federal, state and local government organizations and to their services, programs and resources. By default, searches will return both Government and Non-Government resources.

Subject/Audience

These fields allow you to limit your search results to those relevant only to a particular subject(s) or audience(s). By default, searches will not filter results based on subject or audience.

Match All or Any Search Keywords

This field allows you to specify whether you would like see resources that match all or any of your keywords. Selecting "any" will typically result in more resources being found, but they may be less relevant to what you are searching for. By default, searches will only return resources matching "all" of your keywords.

Results Per Page

This field allows you to specify the maximum number of resources you would like to see on each page of search results. By default, you will see 10 resources per page.