Type words into the entry box that you want to search for, then click [search].

Match any Search Word

The default behavior of the search feature finds pages that contain at least one of the search terms you enter in the box. To find pages that contain all of the search words, use the [all search words] or [exact phrase] options.

Wildcard Searches

You can use wildcard characters '*' and '?' in your search terms to search for multiple words and return larger set of results. An asterisk character ('*') in a search term represents any number of characters, while a question mark ('?') represents any single character.

This allows you to perform advanced searches such as "zoom*" which would return all pages containing words beginning with "zoom". Similarly, "z??m" would return all pages containing four letter words beginning with 'z' and ending with 'm'. Also, "*car*" would be a search for any words containing the word "car".

Match all Search Words

Search for pages that contain all of your provided search terms by selecting the [all search words] option.

Exact Phrase Searches

An exact phrase search returns results where the phrase of words are found, in the same order that they are specified. For example, an exact phrase search for the words "green tea" would only return results where the phrase 'green tea' appears. It would not return pages where the words 'green' and 'tea' are found separately, or in a different order such as, 'tea green'.

To specify an exact phrase search term, you need to enclose the words that form the phrase using double quotation marks. You can also combine the use of exact phrase searches with normal search terms and wildcard search terms within a single search query (eg. "green tea" japan*). Note however, that wildcards within exact phrases (eg. "green te*") are not supported.

Exclusion/Negative Searches

You can precede a search term with a hyphen character to exclude that search term from being included in your search results. For example, a search for "cat -dog" would return all pages containing the word "cat" but not the word "dog".

Some Words are Automatically Skipped

Common words, such as "the", "and", "or," are ignored by the search to improve the search results.

Search Directories Separately

Sections of CAIonline.org that contain their own search feature cannot be searched through the site search. Please search these sections (for example, the Directory of Credentialed Professionals, National Service Directory, Job Market, and Research Library) through their separate search pages.