Menu
Research Guidance - Ngā Aratohu Rangahau
To discover information on the site, you may choose to browse or to search by keyword.
a) Browsing
If you prefer to browse, start your journey from our homepage, where you will find three different browsing pathways:
1. You can browse by format using the blue text links underneath the search box (labelled ‘Photographs’, ‘Manuscripts’, ‘Publications’, etc.). If the format you are looking for is not shown here, simply click the text link ‘Show All’. You can then filter the results by format type.
2. You can browse by collection by selecting one of the featured collection thumbnails. If you wish to see all the collection thumbnails, you can select the ‘Browse All’ button from the top left corner of the homepage, and then select the ‘Collection’ option from the ‘Format’ dropdown menu that loads.
3. You can browse by Parish location using the map widget, to see items that come from, or relate to, places of interest to you. (We are adding new items and collections weekly, so please visit the site frequently to keep up to date with what is available for your region).
b) Searching
If you have a specific event, person, place, or entity that you would like to research, we recommend using the keyword search box on our homepage. It is often helpful to keep your search terms broad in the first instance, to get a good idea of the extent of relevant information that may be held. For example, if searching for information about an individual, enter their surname alone to start with – you can always refine your search later.
You may also opt to use the advanced search function buttons underneath the keyword search box (labelled ‘Format’, ‘Date’, ‘Within Data’, and ‘Search For’) to further refine your search.
Once you’re happy with the keywords or phrase you’ve entered, and any advanced search options you’ve chosen, hit the blue ‘Search’ button, or press enter, to return a list of search results.
Buttons above your search results enable you to view them in either grid or list form, reorder the way they are displayed to suit your preference, and to further refine your search terms to limit the number of results displayed. You can also use the filter toolbar, located to the left of your results, to turn various search filters on or off.
The check boxes in the left-hand corner of each item thumbnail on the search results screen enable you to select the items (or their metadata) to download, or enquire about, to add to your personal curated collections (attached to your user account – should you have one), to share them on social media, or to compare them side by side.
Click on an item thumbnail to open it in the item viewer. Positive hits for your search terms will be highlighted within the item, and if there are multiple hits within the same item, you will be able to toggle between these using the arrows in the search box that loads automatically.
