Search Overview

Here's a quick overview of how to search.

  1. In the search box "Enter Keywords", type one or more words that describe what you're looking for, like housing resettlement.
  2. If you want to search for the specified word(s) within a particular time frame, you may want to use the Date boxes provided to indicate the specific period you are looking for. You can also specify the number of documents that will be displayed per result list page in the Max Display box - the default is 10.
  3. Click the Search button to begin your search. A new page appears in your Web browser listing the first page of search results. Click on any displayed record to view more detailed information. For more information, see Viewing Search Results below.

 

Using search operators in your queries

You can use search operators to improve the results of your searches. Search operators are special characters that define items such as phrases or required words that you want to appear in your results.
Instead of learning search operators, you can also use the Advanced Search page to enter more focused searches. To view the Advanced Search page, click the Advanced Search button.

Search Type

Example

Finds records with

AND Search

Singapore AND River

both singapore and river within each record, although not necessarily next to each other

OR Search

Singapore OR River

singapore or river

Phrase Search

Singapore River

singapore next to the word river

 

Viewing search results

After you type your keywords and start your search, the search results page is displayed and contains the following three main areas:

The Information area at the top of the page indicates the number of records that have been retrieved from the government records database as well as the search term(s) used.
The Navigation area facilitates easy navigation across the pages of the search results.

The Search Results area lists the first ten records that match your search and it contains 4 columns ?the source, file title, date opened and date closed. Your search keywords appear in a highlighted style so they're easy to spot in the results. To view one of the results, click its file title. To view the next ten search results, click Show Next Page. To view a particular page, click on the required page number.

 

 

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search page provides an easy form that you can use to enter more complex searches.
To use the Advanced Search page, do the following:

  1. Decide whether you want to search on one or more field(s) from the given 7 fields and then enter the required search text in your selected fields?boxes. If you enter multiple words within a single search box, you can use the search operators listed above to improve the results of your searches.
  2. In the Max Display box, choose the number of results you want to display on each Search Results page.
  3. Click the Search button to start your search. To clear all the text boxes on the Advanced Search form and reset the form to its original settings, click the Clear Form button.

 

Here's an example of an advanced search:

  1. Type pollution in the File Title box and select Ministry of the Environment from the source box.
  2. Click the Search button or press the Enter key and the search results page is displayed
  3. Click on a record in the search results page to view the particular record.