Search%20Logic%20Viewing%20Results

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Search LogicViewing Results

• Dr. Dania Bilal
• IS 530
• Fall 2006

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Boolean Logic

• Search logic is based on Boolean logic
• Boolean logic is a system for logical operations.
• Based on George Boole, An English mathematician
• Boole was the first to define an algebraic system
  of logic in mid 19th century.
• Boolean logic has many applications in
  electronics, computer hardware and software, and
  database searching.

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Boolean Logic Database Searching

• Boolean logic is used to organize concepts
  together in sets.
• When searching any IR system (e.g., online
  catalog, database) using keywords and/or a
  combination of keywords and controlled
  vocabulary, sets are controlled by use of Boolean
  operators.

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Boolean Operators

• AND for narrowing search results
• Ex strawberry and vanilla and chocolate
• OR for expanding search results
• Ex strawberry or vanilla or chocolate
• NOT for narrowing search results by elimination
  of unwanted concepts
• Ex (strawberry or vanilla) not chocolate

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Venn Diagram AND

• Strawberry and vanilla and chocolate

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Venn DiagramOR

• Strawberry or vanilla or chocolate

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Venn DiagramNOT

• (strawberry or vanilla) not chocolate

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Beyond BooleanTruncation

• Truncation
• Used to expand search results by stemming a word
  or concept at its root
• Used to obtain results with the variant forms of
  names and/or words
• Used to obtain variant spellings
• ? Is the symbol used in Dialog
• See Pocket Guide, p. 6, for use of multiple
  truncations

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Beyond BooleanNesting

• Nesting is a technique used to group similar
  terms or terms that have relationships together
  to increase search results while forcing the
  retrieval software to change its order of
  processing of the Boolean operators based on
  their strengths.

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Boolean Strengths

• Boolean operators are executed based on their
  strengths
• NOT
• AND
• OR

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Viewing Results

• Type (t) command is used to view search results
• Results can be viewed based on
• Nine system-defined formats, and/or
• See Workbook chap. 4.
• User-defined format(s)
• Based on field tags rather than a format number
  (e.g., ti, ab, au, py)

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Common Field Tags

• Tags are found in a database Bluesheets
• Type command is composed of four parts
• t set no./format/record no(s)
• Example t s1/3/1-5
• system-defined (format 3)
• Example t s1/au,ti,ab/1-5
• user-defined format with author, title, and
  abstract