API search on 'The Open University' omits it, Standard Search find it first

API Issues
1

Hi,

If you search for ‘The Open University’ using the standard (non-API) search (https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/search?q=the+open+university) it is returned as the first item.

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Total number of appointments 1
PO BOX 77, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6BT

If you use the API search (https://developer.companieshouse.gov.uk/api/docs/search/companies/companysearch.html#here) it isn’t returned at all in the first 100 records.

If the search string is ‘Open University’ then the API does return the correct record, as item 13.

Although this is one example I am sure that there will be others.
Can the API Search be brought into line, our users would expect this search to work.

Thanks,
Chris

2

The difference here is that on the web site you are searching all (default), but you have specified companies in your API search.
To compare like for like you would need to use https://developer.companieshouse.gov.uk/api/docs/search/search.html and not https://developer.companieshouse.gov.uk/api/docs/search/companies/companysearch.html

hope that helps

3

Thanks Mark, that is helpful.
I realise now that I can do searches on the whole Companies House database or specifically on companies.
It seems that at least many of the extra records which I get don’t have a company number, so I’m left wondering what that actually means.
On my particular search, it seems a bit odd that a search for ‘The Open University’ doesn’t return

within the first 100 records. I’m wondering whether that’s just a quirk of the data and maybe could be cured by a space before the opening bracket.