code: def search(self,
                  q,
                  start=1,
                  num=10,
                  sortField="username",
                  sortOrder="asc"):
          
          params = {
              "f" : "json",
              "q" : q,
              "start" : start,
              "num" : num,
              "sortField" : sortField,
              "sortOrder" : sortOrder
          }
          url = self._url
          return self._get(
              url = url,
              param_dict=params,
              securityHandler=self._securityHandler,
              proxy_url=self._proxy_url,
              proxy_port=self._proxy_port)
docs: The User Search operation searches for users in the portal. The
          search index is updated whenever users are created, updated, or
          deleted. There can be a lag between the time that the user is
          updated and the time when it's reflected in the search results. The
          results only contain users that the calling user has permissions to
          see. Users can control this visibility by changing the access
          property of their user.
  
          Inputs:
          q -The query string to search the users against.
          start - The number of the first entry in the result set response.
                  The index number is 1-based. The default value of start is
                  1 (for example, the first search result). The start
                  parameter, along with the num parameter can be used to
                  paginate the search results.
          num - The maximum number of results to be included in the result
                set response. The default value is 10, and the maximum
                allowed value is 100. The start parameter, along with the num
                parameter can be used to paginate the search results. The
                actual number of returned results may be less than num. This
                happens when the number of results remaining after start is
                less than num.
          sortField - Field to sort by. The allowed field names are username
                      and created.
          sortOrder - Describes whether the returned results are in ascending
                      or descending order. Default is ascending.
                      Values: asc | desc