Search the site’s resources

A single starting point to find the method, source or situation relevant to your question.

Find a method for your task

All words must match, regardless of case or accents. Search stays in the selected language.

From two characters: use arrows to choose, Enter to open, Escape to close. You can also submit the full search.

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Public source
French National Archives: connect an item, its fonds and holding location
The Hôtel de Soubise courtyard provides a concrete reference for the French National Archives’ Paris site. Recognizing the institution in a photograph does not establish where a particular item is held, whether it is digitized or how to consult it. Start with the fonds description and item reference.
Public source
Internet Archive: trace the components of a capture
This rack bearing the Internet Archive name shows that web preservation also relies on physical infrastructure. Steven Walling photographed it at the San Francisco headquarters on 9 December 2011. The image describes neither current equipment nor a particular Wayback Machine capture’s contents.

Choose a starting point

Choose a method

Start from a task: verify, compare, document or decide.

Check a source

Examine the origin, date, scope and limits of information.

Understand a term

Find definitions before applying a protocol.

How can I refine the search?

Start with the topic: Enter one or two specific terms: citation, CSV or provenance. Every word must be present, so a long sentence can exclude useful pages.
Broaden before filtering: Search all families first. Then select a guide, protocol or source according to the kind of answer you need.
Try different wording: Try a synonym or a term in the selected language. Quotes, OR and asterisks are not search operators.

DEEPER READING / PRACTICE

Turn internal search into a useful user journey

A query produces several close results. Reading should help to distinguish the need definition folder, detailed method and implementation tool.

Updated on 2026-10-21.

Priority checks

Formulate a specific need and then try neighboring terms. Read the descriptions and select the type of resource according to the searched step: understand, run or control.

Interpretation pitfalls

The first result is not always the best document to the context. An absence can come from the vocabulary used rather than a lack of content.

Working record to retain

A short route connects a need definition page, a guide and a checklist. Maintaining unresolved questions helps to rebuild research.

PRACTICAL CASE / WORKED EXAMPLE

A natural requirement does not match the exact title

The following case illustrates an approach to defining the need. Situations are pedagogical: they serve to examine the choices and conditions of success, without describing a fulfilled mission or announcing a guaranteed result.

Example context

A reader is looking for how to check a number, while the resources use the word indicator. The results must allow to continue despite a different formulation of the title.

Suggested approach

Try the neighboring terms and read the descriptions. Differentiate methods of calculation, comparison and verification of sources. Choose the resource that corresponds to the actually sought-by-step.

Conclusion and next step

Research becomes a path of solution. The questions still open serve to clarify the next query instead of multiplying the words without clear intention.

Questions for deeper practice

How do you improve a search without losing the initial need?

Keep the starting question and then specify the object, operation and resource type. Useful results give a complementary vocabulary, but their title should not automatically replace the reader's target.

DETAILED WORKSHOP / APPLICATION

Refine a query for the task to carry out

01 / Prepare the necessary information
Describe the initial question and the desired result. Identify the object, operation and type of resource that could help: file, method or tool.
02 / Carry out the approach
Try a formulation and read the descriptions. Release the useful terms and test the variants without giving up the intention. Compare the resources found according to their contribution to the route.
03 / Examine an alternative situation
If the results are close but too general, specify the operation or scope. A well-classed page is not necessarily the one that meets the searched step.
04 / Decide on the next step
Research is useful when it leads to a resource whose response can be identified. Open questions are used to prepare for the next consultation.
05 / Hand over the verification records
Keep a short track with request, resource and supplement. The reader can restart his work without repaired the tests that have led to useful content.

ANNOTATED WORKING DOCUMENT / REVIEW GRID

A track record from a request

The note retains question, tried formulations, useful results and next resource. It distinguishes the exploration vocabulary from the initial goal of the reader.

On a small screen, scroll the grid horizontally to read all three columns.

Example situations to assess
Observation	Supported interpretation	Next step
A resource responds to the desired operation.	The result can serve as a useful step in the course.	Keep the passage and choose the necessary supplement.
The results remain general despite the good topic.	The request must specify action, object or scope.	Try an appropriate formulation without losing the initial question.
The first result has the word but not the answer.	The presence of the term does not prove its relevance.	Read the descriptions and compare the contribution of resources.

Reviewing the working document

The final verification verifies that each step reduces an open question. A link list is not yet a useful path if the reader cannot explain what each page brings.

REPORTING / EXAMPLE WORDING

Presentation of results: Turn internal search into a useful user journey

Point to clarify

A search result must be judged according to its contribution to the searched operation.

Before handing over

Check that the track keeps the initial question despite the vocabulary variants.

Example of a qualified conclusion

The resource selected meets the described stage of the need. The questions still open guidelines the next consultation and remain distinct from the answer found.