Search in a Series allows you to do a keyword search within a known Series. This method would be useful to locate a known file within a particular series. For example, after searching by keyword for lands files, you could use Search in a Series to locate a pastoral lease file for Alexandria Station in NTRS 246.
When searching in Archives Navigator you are searching for contextual information about the archives collection of the Northern Territory Archives Service (NTAS). Contextual information includes what archives were created, who created them and why, how they were used, and how they relate to other archives. Click here for an explanation of our Archival Control System and the terminology used.
If you are not sure what area you are interested in, you might find it useful to use the Browse Search or Keyword Search first, to locate Agencies or Series relevant to your area of research. We also have some research guides to assist with specific areas of interest.
For more information on searching in Archives Navigator, click on the How to Search option under Searching on the main menu.
You must enter a valid NTRS number in this field. If you do not know the Series Id you will need to use another search method, either Browse or Keyword Search, both available under Searching on the main menu.
You must enter a word or phrase (minimum of two characters) in this field. Do not use single characters. Some common words are 'noise' words, which means that they are automatically disregarded in the search. For example: "and", "in", "on", "the". When using this option the search will look for the exact word you have entered, including slashes, hyphens and spaces.
Your Keyword Search will be most effective if you search for a meaningful term describing the context of the archives you are interested in. For example: aboriginal, land, police.
You can use boolean and wildcard searching in this field.
Wildcard searching allows you to search for truncated words (a minimum of two characters), using the asterisk (*) as a wildcard. For example:
Tip: Use the wildcard between the number and a file type alphabetical code if you are searching for a specific file number eg. "PL*246" will return a result for PL246 and PL 246 as the method of item listing may vary in the database.
Boolean searching allows you to do more precise searching by combining your search terms with the operators "OR", "AND", "NOT". Note that Boolean operators are case sensitive and must be entered in capital letters.
You can build a more complex search by using parentheses (brackets) around a search phrase. This ensures that the bracketed phrase will be processed first. For example:
Historical terms have been added to the database to assist searching. Language changes over time and place names are changed. When searching using a keyword, checking the "Include historical terms" checkbox will also search across any historical terms used in the record which have been linked to your search term, eg. a search using Uluru and historical terms, will also return results for Ayers Rock.
Your search will produce a Results Table with one or more results. Each option will have a link to its Details page where you can get full information about that option. There will be further links on the Details page to other components in the NTAS Archival Control System. Often you will need to navigate down or up through your search results to find the information you need.