Selected Decision Search Tips
Enclose terms in double quotation marks to have the search engine to take the terms literally:
The query above finds pages that contain meet.
A single search term without double quotation marks will automatically search for variations of the search term:
The query above finds pages that contain meet, meeting and meetings.
The above query finds pages that contain labor and labor
Search for phrases by entering the words separated by spaces or by surrounding the query with double quotation marks:
Expand searches by linking search term with OR. The search engine will find pages that contain at least one of the search terms:
Narrow searches by linking search terms with AND. The search engine will find pages that contain all of the search terms:
Exclude pages that are not relevant to the search by preceding the search term with NOT:
Use wildcard characters (i.e., * or ?) if you are not sure of the exact form or spelling of the search term or if you wish to expand the search:
Asterisks (*) substitute for a string of characters of any length:
debt* not relief debt* relief debt*, relief *debt*, relief
The asterisk is useful for matching terms with the same root or prefix:
The query above finds pages that contain debt, as well as pages that contain terms like debtor, and debt-to-exports.
The query above finds pages that contain debt, as well as pages that contain terms like debtor, debt-to-exports and indebtedness.
Question marks (?) substitute for a particular character in a term: For example, to search for a decision where you know all the characters in the citation except one, use the following format:
The query above finds all pages that contain decision numbers:
6270-(79/158), 6271-(79/158), 6272-(79/158), 6273-(79/158), 6274-(79/158), 6275-(79/158), 6276-(79/158), 6277-(79/158), 6278-(79/158), 6270-(79/158)