Tricks
in database searching for concept analysis terms.
SYNONYMS and TRUNCATION
BACK TO: The goal of the literature review
SYNONYMS: A default search would look like: LOVE AND CONCEPT. This search
strategy will retrieve items with both words somewhere in the default search
fields, usually the title of the article, the subject terms, and the abstract.
This leads to a much smaller retrieval than a search on just the first term but
more searches in the same database would have to be attempted to get the terms
of: concepts, conceptual, conceive, define, defined, defines, definition,
definitions, understand, understands, understanding, understandings, understood.
These additional searches can get very tedious, particularly if they have to be
repeated through multiple databases.
| # |
Search History |
Results |
Display |
| 1 |
| (love and concept).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption
text] |
|
2416 |
 |
| # |
Search History |
Results |
Display |
| 1 |
| (love and concept).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text,
caption text] |
|
2416 |
|
| 2 |
| (love and concepts).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full
text, caption text] |
|
1643 |
|
| 3 |
| (love and conceptual).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full
text, caption text] |
|
1064 |
|
| 4 |
| (love and define).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text,
caption text] |
|
1372 |
|
| 5 |
| (love and definition).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full
text, caption text] |
|
1598 |
|
|
TRUNCATION: Fortunately most databases understand
truncation. This is where the first part of a word is entered along with a
character code telling the program to fill in the rest. These character codes
may be different from one database to another. We can ask for the program to
retrieval all occurrences of CONCEP by typing CONCEP$ . This could retrieve:
Concept, concepts, conception, and, conceptual. Thus, a search for: LOVE AND
CONCEP$ would retrieve articles
which include "CONCEPT of LOVE ", "CONCEPTION of LOVE",
"CONCEPTS of LOVE", and so on. Of course, the search would have to be
repeated with DEFIN$, and again with UNDERSTAND$, and again with CONCEIV$, and
UNDERSTOOD.
| # |
Search History |
Results |
Display |
| 1 |
| (love and concept$).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption
text] |
|
3750 |
|
| 2 |
| (love and defin$).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption
text] |
|
4421 |
|
| 3 |
| (love and understand$).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text,
caption text] |
|
4991 |
|
| 4 |
| (love and conceiv$).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption
text] |
|
822 |
|
| 5 |
| (love and understood).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text,
caption text] |
|
1631 |
|
| 6 |
|
6866 |
|
A quick way to do this search is using the logical operator OR.
LOGICAL OR: However the search engines can be even more helpful. By using the
logical operator OR we can ask the machine to retrieve all these synonyms, even
the truncated ones, at single attempt. This type of search would look like this:
LOVE AND (CONCEPT$ OR DEFIN$* OR UNDERSTAND* OR CONCEIV*
OR UNDERSTOOD).
The parenthesis or the idea of the parenthesis is
important because these are the synonyms we are looking for as a set, not
separate from each other. They will have to be combined with the key term using
a logical AND. Ors are broader than ANDS, the parenthesis gathers them together
as a set.
| # |
Search History |
Results |
Display |
| 1 |
| (LOVE and (concept$ or conceiv$ or defin$ or understand$ or
understood)).mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption text] |
|
6866 |
|
However, over 6,000 entries to review is probably not a good search. The
search engines have abilities to refine this better.
Next: PROXIMITY SEARCHING
Helen Hough, Health Sciences
Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington. This page covered by all applicable
copyright laws.