diff --git a/api/users.go b/api/users.go
index d289b42d2..f47fbc366 100644
--- a/api/users.go
+++ b/api/users.go
@@ -125,22 +125,22 @@ func (r usersRoutes) updateUser(c *gin.Context) {
 }
 
 func (r usersRoutes) prepareUserSearch(c *gin.Context) (users []model.User, err error) {
-	q := c.Query("q")
-	rQ := c.Query("r")
+	query := c.Query("q")
+	roleQuery := c.Query("r")
 	reg := regexp.MustCompile("[^a-zA-Z0-9 ]+")
-	q = reg.ReplaceAllString(q, "")
+	query = reg.ReplaceAllString(query, "")
 	// make the search work with empty query but selected role
-	if len(q) < 3 && (rQ == "-1" || rQ == "") {
+	if len(query) < 3 && (roleQuery == "-1" || roleQuery == "") {
 		_ = c.Error(tools.RequestError{
 			Status:        http.StatusBadRequest,
 			CustomMessage: "query too short (minimum length is 3)",
 		})
 		return nil, errors.New("query too short (minimum length is 3)")
 	}
-	if rQ == "" || rQ == "-1" {
-		users, err = r.UsersDao.SearchUser(q)
+	if roleQuery == "" || roleQuery == "-1" {
+		users, err = r.UsersDao.SearchUser(query)
 	} else {
-		role, err := strconv.ParseUint(rQ, 10, 64)
+		role, err := strconv.ParseUint(roleQuery, 10, 64)
 		if err != nil {
 			_ = c.Error(tools.RequestError{
 				Status:        http.StatusBadRequest,
@@ -149,12 +149,12 @@ func (r usersRoutes) prepareUserSearch(c *gin.Context) (users []model.User, err
 			})
 			return nil, err
 		}
-		users, err = r.UsersDao.SearchUserWithRole(q, role)
+		users, err = r.UsersDao.SearchUserWithRole(query, role)
 	}
 	if err != nil && err != gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
 		_ = c.Error(tools.RequestError{
 			Status:        http.StatusInternalServerError,
-			CustomMessage: "can not search user",
+			CustomMessage: "cannot search for user's",
 			Err:           err,
 		})
 		return nil, err