Improve your search
Improve your search
If your search returns the message ‘There are no results for your search’, this means there are no records matching your search term but does not necessarily mean that records on your chosen topic do not exist. It might be that a different keyword or phrase generates better results.
Choosing good keywords, and trying different combinations, is the key to getting the best results. Katherine Smith (nee Jones) could appear as Kate Jones, Kathy Jones, Mrs Smith, Mrs Richard Smith or many other variants.
Be wary of modern phrases which might not have been used at the time, such as First World War or World War One which weren’t in use before 1939. Until then it was known as The Great War.
When multiple keywords are used, by default the search will look for records that have all of those words. The more keywords you use, the fewer results you’re likely to get. It is best to start simple – if you get too many hits, you can start again, refine your search or filter the results.
You’ll need to use keywords that strike a balance between being specific enough to get useful results and not being too specific to exclude records that aren’t described with the exact term used.
The catalogue provides descriptions of the records we hold, not an index to their contents. A parish register or local newspaper, for example, may contain hundreds of names. But the names will not normally appear on the catalogue and you’ll need to look elsewhere for an index. Parish registers are indexed in several places, including Ancestry and FreeReg, and you can search local newspapers on the British Newspaper Archive website. If you don’t find what you are looking for on the online catalogue, don’t give up too soon – make use of our research guides or contact us for advice.