ODS Simple User Guide

• What's in the ODS Simple?
• What is not in the ODS Simple?
• Keyword searching
• Finding document symbols
• Searching tips

The ODS Simple database contains:

• the full text of all United Nations parliamentary documents, including resolutions and decisions, issued at United Nations Headquarters in New York and the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1993 (selected documents from 1992), and at the United Nations Office at Vienna since 1997. “Masthead” or “mimeograph” (working documents) are available from 1992 to the present.
• documents from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific beginning in 1998
• all currently valid United Nations administrative issuances: ST/AI/-, ST/IC/- and ST/SGB/-
• documents of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): DP/-
• documents of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): E/ICEF/-
• documents of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO): IDB/-
• documents of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): A/AC.96/-
• documents of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR): E/CN.4/
• documents of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE): ECE/-
• documents of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): TD/-
• and documents of other UN organizations:

The ODS databases do not contain:

•  materials issued by the Department of Public Information (DPI/-)

•  United Nations sales publications

•  documents with restricted distribution

•  United Nations Treaty Series

•  conference room papers and working papers

•  United Nations press releases and transcripts of press briefings

See Searching United Nations Documents and Related Publications Online for databases that provide access to the materials not contained in the ODS databases.

Keyword searching in ODS Simple:

• Searches the full text of documents
• Allows phrase searching
• Allows full Boolean searching
• Allows limiting by data range

• Effective keyword searching requires that you add at least the beginning part of the document symbol relevant to your topic in the Symbol box. For example, when looking for information on refugees in Rwanda , type in the truncated document symbol for the High Commissioner for Refugees A/AC.96/- in the Symbol box and add your keywords in the Keyword box. This strategy focuses your search to documents produced by the commission most responsible for the oversight of refugees.
• The Lexicon button to the right of the Symbol box allows you to browse lists of document symbols. Select a particular symbol from the Lexicon pop up box; this action places that document symbol in the symbol box on the search screen. You cannot select multiple unique documents from the Lexicon pop up.

Sort results by:

• Date of publication
• Document symbol
• relevance

Finding document symbols:

• The UN Documentation: Research Guide gives document symbols for the main UN bodies.
• The University of Minnesota Document AccessUN Guide provides a list of better known UN Committees and Commissions, with associated document symbols.
• A partial List of subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly with corresponding document symbols is available off the Parliament page of the UN.
• A partial List of subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council, with corresponding document symbols is available off the Parliament page of the UN.
• Use the United Nations Yearbook to research your topic; the Yearbook often provides document symbols within the discussion of particular committees and commissions.
• UN Document Symbols provides more information on the UN document symbol system.

Searching tips:

Use UNBISnet for more effective keyword searching.

Use UNBISnet to determine the document symbol(s) related to your topic, through UNBISnet's Bibliographic Keyword Search options. Truncate the symbol on the right to produce a comprehensive set of documents.

Browse official UN documents for the major UN bodies (General Assembly; Security Council; Economic and Social Council; Secretariat; International Court of Justice and Trusteeship Council) and session at the UN Documentation Centre.

For additional information on using ODS see: Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS) and the ODS help page.