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MIT Google: Additional Search Parameters

Overview

You may use additional parameters to make an Advanced Search form for your site, similar to http://web.mit.edu/search.html.

The as_q and as_oq parameters allow you to add hidden search terms to the query your web site sends to the Google Search Appliance. Unlike as_sitesearch, these parameters allow you to combine multiple terms or URLs with Boolean AND/OR logic.

as_sitesearch with as_dt

Use: restrict search to a specific URL

<input type='hidden' name='as_dt' value='i'/> <input type='hidden' name='as_sitesearch' value='web.mit.edu/newsoffice' />

Result: finds only pages in the web.mit.edu/newsoffice site that include the user's search term(s)

 

Use: exclude pages from a specific URL

<input type='hidden' name='as_dt' value='e'/> <input type='hidden' name='as_sitesearch' value='web.mit.edu/newsoffice' />

Result: finds pages in the MIT collection, but not on the web.mit.edu/newsoffice site, that include the user's search term(s)

as_q

Use: add one or more search terms (such as URLs) to the query, combined with boolean 'AND'

<input type='hidden' name='as_q' value='dining forbes'/>

Result: finds only pages in the MIT collection that contain the user's search term(s) AND the terms 'dining' AND 'forbes'.

as_oq

Use: add one or more search terms (such as URLs) to the query, combined with boolean 'OR'

<input type='hidden' name='as_oq' value='site:www.eecs.mit.edu site:www.csail.mit.edu'/>

Result: finds only pages in the www.eecs.mit.edu OR www.csail.mit.edu sites that include the user's search term(s)

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Before You Start

The as_q and as_oq parameters have some effects on the results page that you should be aware of before using them on your site.

Displaying Results
When the results page for a search is displayed, the query term is shown in a blue bar at the top of the results, like this:

When you add search terms to a query, those terms are also displayed in the blue bar. E.g., if you use as_sitesearch to restrict the search to a specific site, it would display like this:

If you use as_q to add key words to a query, the keywords are simply appended:

If you use as_oq to add multiple URLs to a query:

The blue bar stretches in width—depending on how many URLs you've specified—to the point where it may exceed the browser window size and require horizontal scrolling.

Collections (formerly termed "subcollections")
As an alternative to using these search parameters, schools and other large organizations may be eligible to define a collection (a list of URL patterns that can be referred to by a single name to restrict queries) in the Google Search Appliance. Use of a collection to restrict searches avoids the results display and next search effects of the as_q and as_oq parameters. Defining and using a collection requires startup effort from both the MIT search administrator and the web site developer.

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Using the Parameters

Using the as_q and as_oq parameters

as_q (AND)

Add the following line to the search <form> tag in your web page:

<input type='hidden' name='as_q' value='<yourterms>'/>

In place of <yourterms>, list the terms you want to add to your users' queries, separated by a space. Prefix a URL with "site:".
e.g.:
   'techtalk the-tech'
   'site:www.eecs.mit.edu admissions'

as_oq (OR)

Add the following line to the search <form> tag in your web page:

<input type='hidden' name='as_oq' value='<yourterms>'/>

In place of <yourterms>, list the terms you want to add to your users' queries, separated by a space. Prefix a URL with "site:".
e.g.:
   'site:web.mit.edu/newsoffice site:www-tech.mit.edu'
   'alumni site:alum.mit.edu'

(See Instructions for Web Publishers for details about the <form> tag.)

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Reference Guide

For further information on additional search parameters consult the Google Search Protocol Reference, which documents all the supported search parameters in detail.

If you have questions about using these parameters with the Google Search Appliance, send a request to the MIT-Google Team.

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