1. An information retrieval system, the system comprising: at least one database storing a plurality of documents; and a server coupled to the at least one database, the server comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving a query, the query including a first term, from a requesting application presented by a client access device, the requesting application having a plurality of subject areas, the query associated with a subject area of the plurality of subject areas; selecting a taxonomy that is associated with the subject area of the query, the plurality of subject areas being related to different taxonomies; refining the query based on the taxonomy selected to include a second term in the query; and processing the query as refined against the at least one database to return a search result including at least one document to the client device.