There are four simple steps in constructing
a search strategy:
q
Pose the Question
q
Identify the Main Subjects
q
D e t e rmine How to Search the Main
Subjects
q
Formulate the Search Strategy
The first step in designing a search strategy is
the creation of a specific, yet compre h e n s i v e ,
statement that expresses all the elements of
your searc h .
Once you have identified the main subjects,
it is f air ly easy to se le ct appro p r i a t e
Concept Codes, Biosystematic Codes,
Super Taxonomic Groups and subject
t e rms, choose specific data elements and
build a strategy using the command language
of your search system.
Example:
1)Pose the Question
When has xenon with technetium been
used for the diagnosis of respiratory tract
disorders?
2)Identify the Main Subjects
S el ect the impor t ant i deas to be
searched.
a) Xenon
b)Diagnosis
c) Respiratory tract disorders
d)Technetium
3)D e t e rmine How to Search the Main
Subjects
It is essential when searching B I O S I S
P re v i e w s
and using the BIOSIS Searc h
G u i d e
to firs t dete rmine what your
s e a r ch topics are a nd , second , to
determine whether they represent broad
or specific subjects. This will enable you
to use the search guide to develop an ef-
fective search strategy.
a) The first main subject is xenon. In the
Master Index of the BIOSIS Searc h
G u i d e
, xenon is listed as a keyword
followed by the "frequency count."
This is the num ber o f B I O S I S
Previews
citations containing the term
in the most recent five-year period (in
the Title and Added Keywords data el-
ements). For the 1995 BIOSIS Search
G u i d e
, the estimate is for the years
1990 to 1994.
XENON
EX
: XENON (630)
RN
: 7440-63-3
There were no synonyms in the Master
Index. We checked a chemical re f e r-
ence book for any synonyms or cross-
references for xenon; none were given,
so we selected the word xenon as the
first term in the search strategy.
b)The next main subject is d i a g n o s i s.
When you check the Master Index,
you find diagnosis re f e renced with
both a keyword and a list of Concept
Codes, indicating that this topic repre-
sents a broad subject area.
A "bullet" (
q
) preceding a term in the
Master Index indicates that it is a con-
t rolled vocabulary term. Contro l l e d
vocabulary terms are added consistent-
ly by BIOSIS when the corresponding
topics are discussed. These contro l l e d
keywords will be added whether or not
the author explicitly used them in the
source document.
C O N S T R U C T I N G A
S E A R C H S T R A T E G Y
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