# Filter and refine search
Source: https://nordvec.com/docs/guides/how-to/filter-search#reading-the-results

## Reading the results [#reading-the-results]

- **Results are ranked by relevance**, most relevant first. A document ranks by
  its best-matching passage. Use `score` to drop weak matches within one set of
  results; scores from different queries are not on the same scale.
- **`totalCount` vs `results.length`**: `results` holds up to `limit` items;
  `totalCount` is the full match count. If `totalCount` is much larger than your
  `limit`, tighten the `query` or add a filter; there is no second page of
  search results.
- **`status` tells you where the document is in processing.** A document is
  matched on its stored text, so one still `processing` can appear; `indexed`
  means every step finished. See
  [Documents & search](/docs/guides/concepts/documents) for the lifecycle.

<Callout>
Search only ever returns documents the caller is allowed to see. Access is
enforced in the database, not in application code, so a filter can never widen
what the caller sees. For an API key that is what the workspace shares; see
[Who sees a document](/docs/guides/concepts/documents#who-sees-a-document).
</Callout>