Aleph

On this page

Last updated on 2023-06-09.
Edit this page on GitHub.

Executing a basic search

The guide below explains how to carry out a basic search, create email alerts for terms of interest, and how to view and export your results.

Aleph’s site-wide search bar is located at the top of any page on the site. This search bar allows you to search all of the documents and entities you have access to in Aleph. It is comprised of several distinct features:

A screenshot of the search bar in the top navigation bar in Aleph. Red labeled arrows highlight (from left to right) the search from, the “Create alert” button, and the “Advanced search” button.

The Search Form

The search form is where you enter keywords and other terms of interest in order to execute your search.

Create Alert Button

The create alert button enables you to create a saved alert based on the keywords and operators in the search form. Once saved, you will receive email notifications as well as see alerts in the notification tab when new data is added to Aleph that meet the requirements of your search.

Advanced Search Button

The advanced search button displays a popup form which allows you to apply various advanced operators and methods to your search, like fuzzy matching, spelling variations, and proximity searches.

Viewing search results

When you execute a search, the results of your search are listed below the search bar. As you scroll, more of the results will be displayed, until you reach the end of the list. The result count lets you know how many results in total were found matching your term.

A screenshot of the search results page in Aleph. The search box in Aleph’s main navigation bar has the value “Ilham Aliyev”. The page displays a list of search results. Each search results has a title and a snippet that previews its contents. A red marker labeled “Result count” highlights the text “218 results”

With each result, yellow highlighted text indicates the context in which your search term was found. This allows you to eyeball the results and understand why they were returned based on your keywords. This can also help you decide if you need to either expand or narrow down your search.

Previewing a result

Clicking on a search result opens a preview of the document or entity in question, allowing you to briefly assess whether it is worth a more in-depth look. You can quickly preview many results by using the up and down arrow keys to scroll between entries.

A screenshot of the search results page in Aleph. A preview of a search result, a PDF document, is alighned to the right side of the screen and overlays the search results page. The preview includes the name of the document and shows the first page of the document. Red markers highlight the “Expand”, “Download”, and “Close” buttons at the top of the preview overlay.

In the preview, clicking the Expand button will take you to the main page for that entity or document, while the Download button (for documents and other downloadable content) allows you to save a copy to your local machine. The X button closes the preview, returning you to the main results view.

Filtering results

Aleph’s search results page includes a list of filters to further narrow down your search results. These filters are located in the left-hand sidebar of the page. Learn more about filtering your results here.

A screenshot of the search results page in Aleph. The page has a two-column layout. The main, right-hand column contains a list of search results. The left-hand column contains a list of filters, for example “Datasets”, “Types”, “Countries”, “Languages”.

Exporting your results

Aleph enables you to download the results of your search as a spreadsheet. Just click on the export button in the top-right of the window to download the results. Aleph limits the number of search results you can download to a maximum of 10,000 results.

A screenshot of the search results page in Aleph. Above the list of search results, there is a button labeled “Export”. A red marker highlights the button.