Searching the Church Records
Sorting and viewing the search results
The search results are presented with two sort options accessible from the top banner of the search results page.
The first option is to sort results by relevance. This allows records to be presented in the following order:
- Accuracy of the searched field, i.e. the actual spelling of the name as entered. Variants of the name are given a lower relevance and appear further down the list of results. Please note that this does not imply that you will only find your desired records in the first results. Variations in the name spellings, among other factors may determine the success in finding what you are looking for and where in the results that record may be.
- Within the records with the same accuracy level, records are sorted with reference to the number of times the searched field appears. For example, if one searched for the surname Harrison, records with multiple individuals with that name would appear higher on the list than those with only one reference to that name.
- Finally records are sorted by reference to the date of the event.
The second option is to sort the results by date. Quite simply, the date of the event determines to order the record is presented. From the perspective of the social historian, this option facilitates a chronological view of events for a particular area.
