You can find out more about the development of Discovery, our catalogue, on our project page. There are three main ways to search for records: search, browse and tags.
When you are looking for records, it can be difficult to know whether to 'search' or 'browse'. It is always useful to start with a keyword search and see what results you get, as the record you are looking for may be described in detail in the catalogue. Start with a simple search on the main Discovery page, and use Advanced search if you are looking for a specific record.
If your search does not return the results you want or expect, browse through the list of our records by government department. Browsing is a useful tool because many of the records in our collection can't be found using a keyword search due to the limited amount of detail in the description field. As only a small proportion of our records can be searched for by name, place or subject, you will probably need to use the browse function as well as the search tool to get the best out of your research.
Back to topThere could be a number of reasons why a search may not return the results you'd expect. The record you want may have a poor description and therefore won’t be found by a simple keyword search.
Here are a few suggestions for improving your results:
For help finding the records relevant to your research, see our research guidance on looking for a person, place or subject.
Back to topThe 'Refine results' feature is an easy way to narrow your search results.
When you have conducted a search, the 'Refine results' feature is displayed on the left of the search results page. This offers categories by which to filter your search results: subjects, date and collection.
You can also refine your search by catalogue level, closure status and record opening date. The items within the categories are generated based on your current search results.
You can narrow your search by selecting the relevant item and clicking the 'Refine' button below each category. Multiple items can be selected, but must be chosen one by one. You can undo any of the refinements by clicking the 'Remove' button in the ‘Your refinements’ area, or un-checking the item and selecting the ‘refine’ button.
Explanation of the categories in the catalogue:Remember that the more limitations you have in your search, the fewer results will be returned.
Back to topAdvanced search helps you search for records that match specific criteria. You can use as many of the search filters as you wish.
If you select a search filter such as 'sports', under 'subjects', only records that are in this category will be returned in your search results. If you don’t specify a subject, the search will return results that match your search terms across all subjects.
Please remember that the more limitations you have in your search, the fewer results will be returned.
‘Date range’ searches covering dates within the description of the record. Some records have very broad date ranges and will span across multiple years.
You can select whether to search across all our collections or just those that are online and available to download.
If there are specific government departments you want to search within, you can select these from the drop down list. Or you can enter the catalogue reference(s) you would like to search within.
Searches for results that match the subject(s) you have selected. If no subjects have been selected, the search will return results from all subjects that match your search terms.
You can also select how many search results you want to view per page, which catalogue levels you would like to see results for, the opening date of records, whether you want to see open and/or closed records, and the former reference of the record if this is known and applicable.
Back to topDiscovery allows registered users who sign in to save, or bookmark, searches.
You can save a search by clicking the 'star' icon on the top right of the search results page. From here you can give your saved search a title, and then click 'confirm', or 'cancel'.
You can access your list of saved searches by going to your account and selecting 'bookmarks'. From here you can delete any saved searches from your account.
There is a limit of ten saved searches for users. Please note that results may vary as new descriptions are loaded.
Back to topYou can browse the hierarchy of our collections by government department, or browse by catalogue reference.
Our records are arranged hierarchically. The records are grouped initially by the government department departments that created them, and each department contains divisions, series and so on, down to pieces and items. Browsing enables you to understand this structure and go up and down the levels. You can look at files within folders and collections.
Browsing by hierarchy means browsing our records by catalogue level. You can see how each collection breaks down into smaller groups of records. For example, the series ADM 159 breaks down into sub-series. By browsing you can see these sub-series - one is for Royal Marine Light Infantry, one is for Royal Artillery, and so on. These sub-series are groupings of records based on the subjects of the records themselves.
Browsing by hierarchy means browsing our records by catalogue level. You can see how each collection breaks down into smaller groups of records. For example, the series ADM 159 breaks down into sub-series. By browsing you can see these sub-series - one is for Royal Marine Light Infantry, one is for Royal Artillery, and so on. These sub-series are groupings of records based on the subjects of the records themselves.
You can browse from any page of Discovery, including search results and descriptions.
There are up to seven levels of description in the catalogue:
Only department, series, piece and item have references. Only pieces and items can be ordered, viewed or copied.
Back to topTags are intended to improve current record descriptions and help users find information.
We reserve the right to remove tags that do not adhere to these standards If you find any tags which you believe are incorrect or inappropriate, please click on the 'flag as inappropriate' link to alert an administrator.
Back to topIf you experience problems with payment or downloading documents when using Discovery, please contact us by using our online contact form.
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