Search tips
Use these tips to make the most of our search and get better results.
Where is the search?
The search box is at the top-left of each page, beneath the BMA logo. There is also an advanced search option accessible immediately below which allows you to search the whole site or specific areas within in. More information on this option is available below.
How do I get better results?
Searching for a single word may not give good results. The more information you provide, the more refined your results will be. For example searching for ‘primary care trusts’ will return better results than searching for ‘trusts’. In addition, making your search more specific by using the advanced search will enhance your results.
Is the search case sensitive?
No. Entering the keywords doctor, DOCTOR, Doctor or dOCTOR will produce the same results.
How to I search for a phrase?
You can search for a complete phrase by using quotation marks. For example the search expression “end of life” will find all documents containing that phrase.
I am concerned that the search isn’t finding the most recently added / updated pages
Using the advanced search allows you to select date ranges to find the most relevant pages, for example ‘pages published / updated in the last 7 days’.
Boolean searching
Can I use Boolean searching on the site?
Yes, you can use the Boolean terms as detailed below:
AND keyword search
There is no need to put AND between your keywords. Enter your search keywords in the simple search, separated by a space, and click the go button. This will find all documents containing all of your keywords.
OR keyword search
Putting OR between your search keywords will find all documents containing any of your keywords.
Example: The search expression ‘doctor OR physician’ will find all documents containing either doctor or physician or both.
AND NOT search
Putting AND NOT in front of a keyword will exclude that keyword from the search. Any documents containing the excluded keyword will not be included in the search results.
Example: The search expression ‘doctor AND NOT physician’ will find all documents containing doctor but not documents containing physician or both doctor and physician.
Using the advanced search
Where is the advanced search?
A link to the advanced search appears directly below the search box, at the top-left of each page.
What do the types of search mean?
- All of my search words - looks for results that contain every word entered.
- Any of my words - looks for results that contain any one or more of the words entered.
- Exact phrase - looks for results that contain the phrase exactly as entered.
- Boolean - use this option when the search expression is in Boolean format (see above).
This allows you to restrict your results to one of the pre-defined date periods.
Display order results
This allows you to choose the order in which your search results are displayed.
Searching by national areas
The default searches all national areas. You can use these options to restrict your search to one or more areas.
The national areas were set up following devolution. All content is marked to indicate to which national areas it is relevant to. Much, but not all, of the content applies to national areas.
Site areas to search
Use this section to specify whether you wish to search the live pages, the archived pages or both. You can also refine the search further by selecting one or more specific topic areas from the list provided.
The archive contains documents which are still of interest but which form background information to previous activities in the BMA. They are organised by topic areas and by year.