1. A method of searching for records, comprising: receiving a first query from a user; deriving an industry sector from the first query; using sector information to determine additional information to be used in deriving a second query, wherein the additional information is other than a hierarchical classification; requesting the additional information from the user; and deriving the second query from at least a portion of the first query and at least a portion of the additional information wherein the second query includes at least one section parameterized by an (attribute, value) pair used to direct at least two of the following actions: searching, breaking a tie in ranking results, describing relationships among sections of the second query, and expressing confidence measures.