Search

 

Start here for instructions on how to do a basic search in Trove.

If you don't find what you're after, try doing an advanced search.

1. In the Search box at the top of the Trove page, enter keyword/s for what you want to search. Ensure that the spelling is correct – Trove will search exactly what is entered.

You can enter keyword/s in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander languages and non-English languages. You can also enter the name of an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language to get results that may contain the language.

Examples:

  • Enter tjukinya to find items with this keyword in Pitjantjatjara language
  • Enter Pitjantjatjara to find items that may have Pitjantjatjara language content
  • Enter viaggio to find items with this keyword in Italian language

2. Select the green magnifying glass button to begin the search. Trove will generate a list of results containing your keyword in each available category. 

3. Scroll down the list of category results. To see more results within a category, select the "See all...results" button at the bottom right of the category section.

OR

4. Go directly to a category by selecting a tab above the search field.


Search within a category

1. In the Search box at the top of the Trove page, enter keyword/s for what you want to search. Ensure that the spelling is correct – Trove will search exactly what is entered.

You can enter keyword/s in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander languages and non-English languages. You can also enter the name of an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language to get results that may contain the language.

Examples:

  • Enter tjukinya to find items with this keyword in Pitjantjatjara language
  • Enter Pitjantjatjara to find items that may have Pitjantjatjara language content
  • Enter viaggio to find items with this keyword in Italian language

2. Select a category from the drop-down menu on the right hand side of the Search box.

3. Select the green magnifying glass button to begin the search. This will generate a list of results containing your keyword in your selected category.


Refine your search results

While viewing results within a category, you have the option to Refine Your Results with filters.

Filters are available on the right hand side of the page. Certain categories offer certain filters.

To apply a filter, select the checkbox adjacent to it. To remove the filter, select the checkbox again.

To view all available options of a filter type, select Show more. To remove all filters, select Clear all underneath the search field.

Below are the types of filters available in certain categories:

  • Type - Filter results by sub-categories (e.g. Newspapers or Gazettes, Images, Maps or Artefacts)
  • Format - Filter results by format (e.g. Book, Video, Article)
  • Place - Filter results by place of publication
  • Title - Filter results by title of publication
  • Access - Filters results by online availability, and whether it is freely accessible, or whether access conditions apply
  • Rights - Filter results by rights statement, such as whether it is in or out of copyright, or if there is a creative commons licence
  • Category (for newspapers, gazettes, magazines & newsletters) - Filter results by the kind of content (e.g. article, advertising, family notices)
  • Date Range - Filter results based on the decade or year they were published
  • Language - Filters results by language of the work
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Language - Filters results by language using Austlang codes
  • Illustration Type (for newspapers, gazettes, magazines & newsletters) - Filters results by the type of illustration (e.g. photo, map, cartoon)
  • Word Count - Filters results by the number of words in the work
  • Occupation (for correspondence, collections, people & organisations) - Filters results by the occupation of the person
  • Scale (for maps) - Filters results from street level through to country level

A note about the Date Range filter

The Date Range filter sometimes shows dates that seem incorrect. For example, you may see a decade range of “2100-2109” or “3010-3019”.

Records are supplied to Trove in many formats. In some records, the date information is not standard and occasionally results in examples like the above. Trove is great for researching the past but cannot yet predict the future. 


Tips

Search for names starting with "Mc"

Also try searching for the name excluding the ‘c’, or replacing the ‘c’ with a space and searching as a phrase.

Examples:

  • mchugh
  • mhugh
  • "m hugh"

This is because names beginning with Mc may be printed as M‘, and processed as an M followed by an apostrophe, M’ (and thus the c is not searchable).

Search for names or phrases containing punctuation

Search for words or phrases that would usually include punctuation: Remove the punctuation from your search terms, run the terms together, or replace the punctuation with a space and search for the term as a phrase.

Example - Instead of o'reilly and 2/14 Battalion, use:

  • oreilly and 214th battalion; or
  • "o reilly" and "2 14th battalion"

If you would like to do your search again later and don't want to repeat all the selections that you had made (eg. keywords, category, filters, etc.), you can save your specific search by copying the URL and saving it for your own records.

In the example below, a search for the keyword "Australia" resulted in the highlighted URL. This URL can be copied and pasted into a browser address bar, and it will go straight to the search results.

This is helpful if you want to share your search results with someone. You can send them the URL and they can instantly see your results.

Screenshot of Trove search by URL


Didn't find what you were after? You may be ready for an advanced search, which will give you more options to narrow down your results.