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: Appendix C
Appendix C: Glossary of Terms
A-C | D | E-K | L-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z
A
Additional Index
An Additional Index refers
to a specific database field that is not searched
by default, i.e., not included in the Basic Index
of a database. Additional Indexes are usually searched
using a two-character prefix code, for example, AU=
[author], JN= [journal], etc. Some Additional Index
fields may also be included in the Basic Index.
Alert
Dialog Alert is
a current awareness service wherein a search runs
automatically whenever new records are added to
the database, at a specified frequency, with the
results delivered electronically, via email, ftp
or postal mail. See SAVE
ALERT.
B
Basic Index
The Basic Index is
the index of subject words in a database and
generally includes the title, descriptors, abstract
and full text. The Basic Index is searched by default
when search terms are entered with no field prefixes,
suffixes or qualifiers.
Bibliographic Citation
A Bibliographic
citation includes the title, author,
date of publication, and source of an article.
The amount of information may vary according to
the database.
BEST
B-E-S-T summarizes a basic
search using Dialog commands: B EGIN, E XPAND, S ELECT, T YPE.
Bluesheet
A Bluesheet provides
a detailed description of a database, its subject
scope, indexing, special features and a sample record.
C
Citation
See Bibliographic Citation.
Command
A Command is a word
or phrase that causes the Dialog system to perform
an activity. Commands may be entered whenever the "?" prompt
appears.
Connectors
See Logical Operators and Proximity
Connectors.
CURRENT qualifier
The CURRENT qualifier restricts
a search to the most
recent records in a file. It is appended to the
BEGIN command.
It can be restricted to records added during the
most current calendar year and the previous year,
or to the current year and a specified number of
years, up to five.
D
Database
A database is a collection
of related information stored electronically. The
database includes the documents, or records, plus
its associated indexes. Each database on the Dialog service
is identified by a number, e.g., PROMT® (File
16).
Descriptors
Subject descriptors,
or subject headings, are terms that express the main
topics found in an article. Descriptors are usually
assigned by a person who reads the article. Searching
on descriptor terms helps eliminate records that
may have the search terms, but are not really about
the topic.
DIALINDEX®
DIALINDEX is
a master index to most of the Dialog databases.
In DIALINDEX we can compare the number of records
retrieved from a group of databases. DIALINDEX is
particularly useful when we do not know which databases
to search, when the topic is not well-known, or when
we want to do a comprehensive search and cover everything
on a topic.
Dialog eLinks
From its vast collection of scientific,
medical and technical databases, searchers can link
directly to the fulltext of the publications to which
they subscribe.
Dialog ERASM
Dialog Era stands
for Electronic Redistribution and Archiving Service.
Dialog ERA enables you to electronically store and
distribute Dialog search results to coworkers in
your organization.
DIALORDER®
The ORDER command followed by a
supplier acronym is the main command used to order
documents through DIALORDER, the online document
ordering service that connects Dialog users
to a number of document suppliers.
Document Delivery
Document Delivery provides access to documents such as journal
articles, annual reports, dissertations and standards & specs,
regardless of whether the full text is available
in Dialog databases. Document Delivery
services are provided via the Thomson Patent Store,
and Dialog
SourceOne brand using the DIALORDER feature in Dialog Command
Language products.
Document Linking
Document Linking is a term used
to describe a variety of ways to connect to the full
text of a publication via a hyperlink within a Dialog database.
The technology, licensing, and payment methods are
variable and depend on contractual agreements among
suppliers, publishers, ProQuest, and the
customer. See also SourceOne, Dialog
eLinks, DIALORDER, and Thomson
Patent Store.
E
EXPLODE
The EXPLODE feature, available
in selected files, provides an easy and convenient
way to search narrower Related Terms. Use an exclamation
point (!) as a truncation mark to activate the EXPLODE
feature with a descriptor term that has narrower
Related Terms (listed as "N" under the
Type column in the EXPAND display).
F
Field
A field is a distinct
part or section of a record. Typical fields include
title, author, journal name, and publication date.
In a business directory database, fields include
company name, city names, zip codes, sales figures,
to name a few. Check the Bluesheet since fields vary
according to the database.
File
As used by Dialog, synonymous with database.
Finder Files
The Dialog Finder Files are databases
that have been created to aid in selecting databases.
The Finder Files have been designed to allow users
to search multiple database indexes with common search
elements. They include the Dialog Company Name Finder
(File 416), Dialog Journal Name Finder (File 414)
and the Dialog Product Name Finder (File 413).
Format
Formats determine the
amount of information displayed for each record.
A format specification is part of the PRINT, REPORT
and TYPE commands.
FROM qualifier
The FROM qualifier may
be used in a OneSearch session to control in which
databases the following commands should execute:
DISPLAY SETS, EXPAND, KEEP, PRINT, SELECT, TYPE.
The FROM qualifier is required when using the SORT
command in a OneSearch session.
I
Identifiers
Identifiers are
index terms assigned to a record by an indexer but
are generally not from a controlled vocabulary. Identifiers
frequently are proper names, geographic locations,
or terms that have not yet been added to the thesaurus.
Index
An index is created to
maximize search efficiency. Each discrete
record in a database is analyzed and distinct indexes,
or organized term lists, are generated. Term lists
created from subject-related elements of a record
(title, document text, descriptors, etc.) are included
in the Basic Index. Term lists form non-subject-related
elements (author, date, identifying numbers, etc.)
are included in the Additional Indexes.
Item
See Record.
L
Limit Suffixes
Every database has limiting
criteria that make it possible to screen out large
portions of the file more rapidly than a SELECT command
on a particular index could accomplish. One example
is the ability to limit retrieval
to English language sources with <term>/eng.
Logical Operators
Logical operators define
the logical relationships among the terms being searched
with the SELECT command. Three kinds of logical relationships
are defined on Dialog: OR, AND, and NOT.
Logical operators are also known as Boolean operators. See Appendix
A.
M
Marked Text
A feature of DialogLink 5,
Marked Text lets you select content in the Retrieve
Buffer. Text in the Marked Text window may be annotated
and saved in a variety of formats.
O
OneSearch®
OneSearch is
the Dialog tradename for the ability to
conduct a full search of a collection of related
databases (up to 60), browse the indexes, or display
records. A single OneSearch category may be searched,
or multiple categories, such as MEDICINE or PATENTS,
or a mix of OneSearch categories and file numbers
(e.g., b businessnews, 471).
P
Picklist
The PICKLIST command displays
records from your search set in a separate window
and adds a check
box next to each record. The PICKLIST window display
streamlines the process of browsing titles and selecting
individual records.
Postings
Postings means the total number of occurrences (as opposed to records)
of a term in a database. For example, the term nanotechnology appears
35,933 times in 29,346 records in File 2: Inspec®.
Profile
The Dialog Profile feature
allows you to customize the Dialog
service to your own needs. Any of the SET commands
can be stored in your Profile file, except SET PASSWORD. See Creating
Your Dialog Profile.
Proximity Connectors
Proximity
connectors specify
the relative nearness or adjacency of search terms
in a SELECT command statement. They are used in two-word
or multiple-word phrases or phrases that have punctuation
or stop words. Proximity connectors on Dialog include
(w), (n), (#w), (#n), and (s). See Appendix
A.
R
Record
A record is a generic
term for the discrete items in a database.
Depending on the database, a record may be a news
article, company profile, patent, numeric data, or
other type of document.
Retrieve Buffer
The Retrieve Buffer in DialogLink
5 displays all online interactions — your
search commands and the system responses.
S
Search
A search is the process
of using Dialog commands, such as SELECT or FIND,
in combination with terms representing topics of
interest — a search statement — to
retrieve relevant records from a database.
SearchSave
SearchSave is a Dialog trademarked
name for the ability to store
search strategies for reuse at a later time. See the
SAVE Command for more details.
Set
The results of a SELECT or FIND command is
a Set . Each Set is
numbered and contains pointers to the records in
the database(s).
SourceOne®
A Dialog tradename for
its online document and patent delivery
service. See ORDER.
Stop Words
Stop words are nine
non-searchable words on the Dialog system. They include:
AN, AND, BY, FOR, FROM, OF, THE, TO, WITH. These
words should not be included in a subject search.
Subject Categories
See OneSearch.
Supercategories
Used in DIALINDEX, Supercategories contain
hundreds of databases in broad subject areas, e.g.
ALLSCIENCE.
T
TAG
TAG format presents a record
so that each field begins on a new line and is preceded
by a two-character display code. TAG format may be
specified with the PRINT or TYPE commands.
Thesaurus
A Thesaurus is a controlled
vocabulary list in which relationships between terms
in the list are enumerated, e.g., Narrower, Broader,
Related, Use and Use For. See Viewing
Online Thesauri.
Truncation
Truncation is used to permit
variations in word length or spelling. See Dialog
Command Language Search Basics.
Thomson Patent Store
A document delivery service
for patents available via Dialog.
Type-Ahead Buffer
The Type-Ahead Buffer in DialogLink
5 allows you to enter and edit your search
before going online and to type search commands
at your own pace while connected.
V
Visual Expand
Visual Expand (VE), available in DialogLink
5, provides a 25-item Expand list of terms
in a separate window (e.g., VE AU)
Visual Rank
The VISUAL RANK command, available in DialogLink
5, allows you to perform trend or statistical
analysis on an existing set. It selects Rank from
the Tasks drop-down menu. A window opens so you
can choose from a list of available Rank fields.
(e.g., VR DE)
X
XML
XML is an output format available in DialogLink
5.
XSLT
XSLT is used to instruct DialogLink 5 to
generate a formatted Word® or Excel® report
from a set of Dialog records saved in XML
format. The <template
name> qualifier directs DialogLink to
the template file
(.XSLT) that contains instructions on how the records
are to be formatted in the resulting Word or Excel
report.
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