Help Page | Searching and Browsing

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Searching and Browsing

Overview

Discover PBS LearningMedia content in two different ways:

Keyword search - Type a word or phrase into the search box
Browse - Explore the site by clicking through resources and collections

This section explores how find content using both methods.

View a short video about searching, browsing, and filtering content

How to search by keyword

Searching by keyword is the most direct way to surface the material you want. Keyword search criteria can range from a broad topic to a specific resource name. If the first set of search results do not produce what you are looking for, try searching again using different search terms. Keywords are not necessarily categories; PBS LearningMedia uses keywords to help produce more targeted results.

This section demonstrates how to search using keywords.

Type search criteria into the search textboxes available on the homepage banner (Figure 1.1) or from the top banner on the homepage or any subpage on the PBS LearningMedia site (Figure 1.2).

Figure 1

The total number of search results displays at the top of the page followed by all results (Figure 2.1).
Dynamically change the search results by modifying the filters on the left side of the page (Figure 2.2). After you have clicked a checkbox, click the checkbox again to uncheck the box and return to the full search result set.
To expand each filter category, click the plus sign to the left of the category heading (Figure 2.3).
If the results total more than 10 results, pagination displays at the bottom of the search results (Figure 2.4). Click each page number to view results on that page or Last to view the last results to display from your search.

Figure 2

How to browse

PBS LearningMedia offers several ways to browse content. From the homepage, you can:

Click Subjects or Grades to access browse options (Figure 1.1).
Click any of the category headings listed horizontally along the top of the page (Figure 1.2).
Click any of the blue buttons under Browse by Subject or Browse by Grade to go directly to resources categorized by subject or grade (Figure 1.3).
Click any of the collections listed horizontally near the bottom of the page (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1

After clicking into an area of study, such as Science, click one of the circles at the top of the page that further narrow the area of study (Figure 2.1).
Use the filters to further refine your results (Figure 2.2).
The number of resources matching the area of study displays. Click Advanced Search for a search results page with preset filters (Figure 2.3).
Scroll down the page to view Collections, Resources, Videos, etc. (Figure 2.4).

Figure 2

* Note: Keep in mind that choosing multiple grade levels will return only the resources that have been deemed appropriate for those grade levels.

Keyword search tips

How to return resources containing all keywords

To return results that include ALL of the keywords, type quotation marks around your keywords in the search textbox and click the magnifying glass icon or press Enter on your keyboard (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1

Only results containing all keywords are returned (Figure 2).

Figure 2

How to return results containing one or more keywords

This method of searching by keyword typically produces the most results.

To return results containing one or more keywords, type individual keywords in the search textbox with no quotation marks. Example: the science of summer (Figure 1.1).
Results containing at least one of the keywords are returned. The total number of results appear above the search results (Figure 1.2).
Click the Sort by dropdown menu to sort your search results by relevance, popularity, or date (Figure 1.3).

Figure 1

How to use filters

Filters refine your search results by allowing you to choose only the criteria you want returned in your results.

Filters are available along the left side of the page after you have conducted a search and can be activated by clicking the checkbox next to each (Figure 1.1). When a filter checkbox is checked and unchecked, results are automatically recalculated.
The selected filters are displayed above the search results (Figure 1.2).
Remove an individual filter by clicking the x to the right of the filter name (Figure 1.3). When a filter is removed, search results automatically recalculate and display.
Click Clear Filters to clear all filters and return to the original set of search results (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1

How to sort search results

After conducting a search, click the Relevance dropdown menu (Figure 1) to sort your search results by:

Relevance - Resources most closely related to your search criteria appear first. This is selected by default.
Popularity - Resources that have the most views display first.
Newest - Most recently published resources display first.

Figure 1

Searching for Alternate Language Resources