Search and browse

This guide explains how to use the platform interactively to find relevant PCA content.

When to use this guide

Use this guide if you want to:

• look for an existing term, class, property, symbol, or type
• narrow down large result sets
• move from a vague concept to the specific content you need

Step-by-step

1. Open the search area of the platform.
2. Enter the word, phrase, or known identifier you want to explore.
3. Review the returned results and look at labels, types, ontologies, and status information.
4. Use filtering or result navigation if the search returns too many matches.
5. Open the content page for the most relevant result.
6. Confirm that the item fits your need before you reuse it, reference it, or propose an extension.

What to pay attention to

When reviewing search results, focus on:

• the preferred label or other labels
• the type of content you are looking at
• the ontology or collection it belongs to
• whether the content appears current and relevant for your use case

Good practice

• Search broadly first, then narrow down.
• Check whether similar content already exists before creating anything new.
• If you are unsure between several results, open each content page and compare the context.

See also

• PCA Explore
• Understand Content Pages
• PCA Consume