Direct search refers to the retrieval of results from a database based on keywords or a phrase submitted to the search.The search can be viewed as a straightforward request for information from the database. However the dataset returned may be very large and ordering of the records according to relevance becomes key to the effectiveness of the direct search.

Direct search is used by most search engines to search through a very large set of data in order to find records that best fit a search phrase submitted to the search engine. Search engines order the results according to (secret) algorithms which are owned and closely guarded by the search companies. The success of the search company is largely dependent on the ability of the search algorithm to present the best, most relevant articles at the top of the search results listing.

Searches can be refined by combining hierarchical search techniques to achieve a more faceted search approach.