Support : DialogLink : Online Help : EXPAND

EXPAND (continued)

Viewing Online Thesauri

You can use EXPAND to view the contents of an online thesaurus by entering EXPAND followed by the search term of interest. If thesaurus terms appear in the EXPAND display, an extra column labeled "RT" (Related Terms) is shown. Entries that are thesaurus terms show the number of their related terms in the RT column.

To view the related terms for an entry, enter a second EXPAND command followed by the E number of the entry. The resulting display is similar to an EXPAND display, but the entry numbers begin with R to show that the terms on the list are all related.

If you want to EXPAND a known thesaurus term, you can place it in parentheses to skip the E-number display and go directly into the thesaurus for a Related Term display. For example, you can view the related terms for the term TEXT EDITORS, if it is a thesaurus term, by entering EXPAND (TEXT EDITORS). If the term EXPANDed in parentheses is not a thesaurus term or has no related terms, you will receive a message stating that no related terms exist.

You can also EXPAND Related Term entries (R numbers) to view subsequent related term lists (e.g., EXPAND R6).

Within most R-number lists, a column labeled "Type" shows the hierarchical relationships among the terms in the list according to the particular thesaurus being used. You will most frequently see the following types of relationships:

N = narrow
B = broad
R = related
U = the preferred or "Used" term
F = terms the EXPANDed terms is used "For"

Notes:

Related terms cannot be EXPANDed in DIALINDEX on DialogClassic or DialogWeb—Command Search

Be sure to SELECT your entry from a Related Term list before entering a new EXPAND command or continuing beyond R50.

The numbers of Items shown in an EXPAND display for single-word thesaurus terms reflects the total number of records in which the term appears in any field (i.e., not only the records containing the term as a Descriptor, but also all records containing the term in any Basic Index  field). Use /DF to restrict retrieval to the Descriptor field in a SELECT command.

• To view a thesaurus, EXPAND the term, then EXPAND the E number:

File   5:Biosis Previews(R) 1926-2008/May W3
       (c) 2008 The Thomson Corporation

      Set  Items  Description
      ---  -----  -----------
?expand ecology
Ref   Items   RT  Index-term
E1        1       ECOLOGUS
E2        3       ECOLOGV
E3  1314070   15  ECOLOGY
E4        1       ECOLOGY A NATURAL POPULATION QUEENSLAND FR
E5        1       ECOLOGY A PROTERIADES ITS CHRYSURA PARASIT
E6        1       ECOLOGY ABSCISIC-ACID PHENOL GROWTH GIBBER
E7        1       ECOLOGY ABUNDANCE DISTRIBUTION
E8        1       ECOLOGY ABUNDANCE FLOW REGIME FLOODING WAT
. . . .
?expand e3
Ref   Items Type   RT  Index-term
R1  1314070        15  ECOLOGY
R2        0   S        General studies of relationships
R3        0   S        between organisms or between
R4        0   S        organisms and their environment
R5        0   S        (where a specific environment is not
R6        0   S        discussed). For ecological studies of
R7        0   S        populations, see Population Studies. 
R8        0   S        For studies of human relationships 
                       with their environment, see Human 
                       Ecology.
R9   903228   B    12  ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
R10   56657   N     5  ESTUARINE ECOLOGY
R11  183744   N     5  FRESHWATER ECOLOGY
R12    6921   N     5  GROUNDWATER ECOLOGY
R13  172042   N     3  MARINE ECOLOGY
R14    4814   N     6  SUBTERRANEAN ECOLOGY
R15  133500   N     6  TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY
R16  149835   R     9  HUMAN ECOLOGY

?expand (human ecology)
Ref   Items Type   RT  Index-term
R1   149835         9  HUMAN ECOLOGY
R2        0   S        Studies of the relationships between
R3        0   S        human communities and their natural
R4        0   S        environments. For studies of the
R5        0   S        effects of environmental conditions
R6        0   S        on sociological structure, see 
R7        0   S        Sociology. For studies of historic
R8        0   S        populations see Anthropology.  For 
                       studies of fossil humans, see
                       Paleobiology.
R9   219729   B     8  ANTHROPOLOGY
R10   14145   R     7  SOCIOLOGY

Usage Notes:

DialogClassic: The EXPAND results in a display of 12 Index terms.

DialogLink 5: VISUAL EXPAND provides a graphical interface with check boxes and buttons that make viewing related terms intuitive and easy. See the VISUAL EXPAND for details.

(SELECTing from an EXPAND Display) 

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