Web Search Help

Tutorial

You can use an online tutorial (flash version, accessible version) or the the search tips below to learn to search for government information on USASearch.gov. To view the flash version of the tutorial, you may need to download a free version of Flash Player.

Searching

The query box is on the homepage and at the top of every results page.

To search, type a word or phrase into this box. Click Search or press the Enter button on your keyboard.

OPTION	DESCRIPTION
Single word searches	Search a subject: housing Search a form number: 1040 Search an agency abbreviation: nasa Search a name: arizona
Multiple word searches	Search for subjects: war on terrorism or skin cancer Search for names: white house or george washington
Phrase searching	To find a specific phrase, use quotation marks around the phrase. For example: "social security".
AND or +	A search on USA.gov uses AND as a default. A search for medicare benefits means the same as medicare AND benefits or medicare +benefits, and finds documents containing both words.
OR	A search for navy OR army will find documents containing either the word navy or the word army.
NOT or -	A search for grants -loans, or grants NOT loans will find documents containing the word grants but not the word loans.
Capitalization	USASearch.gov ignores capital letters. Thomas Jefferson produces the same result as thomas jefferson or ThoMas JeffERson.

Browsing Clusters

The search engine groups search results into clusters. These clusters are located on the left side of the search results page.

To browse a cluster, click on a cluster name. The result list will change to reflect that cluster’s contents. Sub-clusters display indented under the main cluster name.

Clusters allow you to view search results by topics related to your search.

Browsing clusters will allow you to

Narrow the focus of your search
View similar results grouped together
Find relevant results which may not be displayed on the first page
Uncover related information

To dig deeper into the topics considered during the creation of the clusters, click on remix. This reveals submerged or secondary topics that were not generated in the initial clustering. After clicking remix one or more times, click unmix to return to the original clusters. Remix is a patent-pending technology of Vivisimo.

Viewing Search Results

Screen shot of White House Search Result

The underlined title of the search result is the main link to the site. You can also click on the site's URL. After viewing this site, use your browser's Back button to return to USA.gov Search.

opens the result in a new browser window.
will open the preview pane, which shows the website without leaving the search results page. To close it, click close preview or click on the small x in the upper right-hand corner of the preview pane.
links to the last version of the page saved by the search engine. If you are unable to connect to the site, you might find the information you need by looking at the cached page.
searches for the same term(s) within this particular site.

Features and Shortcuts

The search engine offers innovative features to help citizens get the information they need quickly and easily. New features will be added continuously, so check back here often for the latest features and tools.

FEATURE

DESCRIPTION

USA.gov FAQs

The USA.gov FAQ database contains the most popular questions asked by citizens via the Federal Citizen Information Center’s national contact center at 1-800-FED-INFO. If your query matches entries in the FAQ database, the question will appear at the top of the search results. Additional FAQ databases from other government agencies will be added periodically. The agency's identifying URL will appear next to the FAQ. Click on a question link and get a detailed, authoritative answer.

Try it with auctions or emergency passport.

Advanced Search

For more precise and relevant results, refine your search with the Advanced Search page.

OPTION	DESCRIPTION
Show results with	You can choose which words or phrases you want included or excluded. All of these words will return results with all of the words or phrases in the search box. This exact phrase will match your words or phrase exactly. Any of these words will return results that contain any one of the words in the search box. None of these words will return results that do not contain the words or phrases you enter in this box. For the options above, you can specify in what part of the page you would like your words or phrases found. Any part of the page in any part of the page, including the text, the title, or URL. In the title of the page in the title of the page only (the title you see displayed in the blue bar at the top of the browser).
Language	Searches may be restricted to Spanish-language or English-language pages only. The default search includes both English and Spanish pages.
File type	Use the drop-down menu to make a selection.
Results per page	Use the drop-down menu to change the number of results displayed on the search results page.

Once you have made your selections, click the Search button.