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Welcome
Lesson 1: Choosing a Database
Lesson 2: Planning a Search Strategy
Lesson 3: Using Dialog Search Commands
Lesson 4: Managing Search Results
Lesson 5: Refining a Search (Part 1)
Lesson 6: Refining a Search (Part 2)
Lesson 7: Wrapping Up the Course

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The Basic Index

Below we see the Basic Index from File 2. The excerpt shows the parts of the Basic Index, for example, search suffixes, field names, and examples. Viewing the Bluesheet tells us how we can restrict our subject searches to specific fields and gives us examples showing how to enter the search terms.

For instance, Brian wants information on new developments in LEOS related to the iridium project. Instead of searching the entire Basic Index as we did in our last search, we can look on the Bluesheet to see if we can restrict the search to specific fields using suffixes.

BASIC INDEX

SEARCH
SUFFIX		 DISPLAY
CODE		 FIELD NAME
 INDEXING
 SELECT EXAMPLES
None None All Basic Index Fields Word S THRESHOLD(W)CURRENT
/AB AB Abstract Word S THRESHOLD(W)CURRENT/AB
/DE DE Descriptor1 Word
& Phrase		 S FIBRE?(N)OPTIC?/DE
S OPTICAL FIBRES/DE
/ID ID Identifier2 Word
& Phrase		 S GAALAS/ID
S INGAAS-GAALAS/ID
/TI TI Title Word S QUANTUM(W)WELL(S)LASER?/TI

1 Also /DF.
2 Also /IF.

Suffixes allow us to restrict a search to only the most important subject-related information within each record. They help to make the search strategy more precise. They are appended to the end of a search word, a search phrase, or a set number. We can also use more than one suffix by separating them with commas. Tip 5-1

To restrict retrieval to a field, we enter a slash (/) followed by the two-letter suffix, such as TI for Title, after the term:

select internet?/ti

Some common suffixes are: Learn More

Suffix Field Name Example
/ti Title s world(w)wide(w)web/ti
/de Descriptor s satellite(w)antennas/de
s satellite antennas/de
Tip 5-4
/id Identifier s iridium/id

Tip 5-2      Tip 5-3

Go to the next page to see a search using suffixes.


5-2
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Authoritative Answers Enriched by ProQuest

Learn More #2:

There are also ways to combine suffixes in search statements.

  1. You can apply more than one suffix to a term, separating the suffixes by commas. This locates the term in at least one of the fields:
    s computer?/ti,de

  2. You can apply multiple suffixes to groups of terms using parentheses:
    s (computer? or microcomputer?)/ti,de

  3. You can retrieve multiple terms in the same title in a single SELECT statement by either of two methods:
    s optical(w)spectrum/ti and videoconference?/ti
    s (optical(w)spectrum and videoconference?)/ti

  4. You can apply a field suffix to a set number to focus the results:
    s computer? or microcomputer?
    s s2/ti,de

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Search Tip 5-1:

Specific fields and codes vary according to the database; always refer to the database Bluesheet to see which ones are available in that database.

Search Tip 5-2:

If the suffix selected is not available in the database(s) you are searching, the search term(s) will be searched throughout the entire Basic Index.

Search Tip 5-3:

If a suffix code is applied to a set number that refers to a set created with the AND or NOT logical operator, the suffix will apply to at least one, but not necessarily all, of the terms in the set.

Search Tip 5-4:

The descriptor field is both word- and phrase-indexed. We can either use proximity connectors between words in the phrase, or we can leave them out.

If we search the phrase without proximity connectors, the terms are only searched in the descriptor field.