U n d e r s t a n d i n g S u b j e c t I n d e x i n g
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U n d e r s t a n d i n g
S u b j e c t I n d e x i n g
Descriptors appear with
each animal they index.
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I
nformation in
ZR on CD is indexed to ensure that you select the most relevant records
from your search. This section describes the following subject indexing methods:
·
Descriptors
·
Subject Thesaurus
·
Systematic Thesaurus
·
Super Taxa
Descriptors
The Descriptors (DE) field contains the Subject Thesaurus terms with their associated
noncontrolled terms and phrases. The field contains indented blocks of terms and
phrases, or paragraphs (also called "sentences"). Each paragraph contains an animal
name or names and the associated Descriptors. When different Descriptors apply to dif-
ferent animals, there is more than one sentence. The sentence structure of the Descrip-
tors provides a mechanism by which specific animal names can be linked to specific
subject terms using the
near operator.
Linking Subjects and Animal Names
Particular animal names can be linked to specific subject terms using the
near operator.
This ensures that the animal and the subject appear within the same sentence in the
Descriptors and Systematics fields.
Note: Using and to link these terms may retrieve records unrelated to your topic since
the subject terms could be found in a different sentence or field relating to another ani-
mal name.
For example, to locate references on Acari (Arachnid) as parasites of pigeons,
Columbia
livia, search
acari near avian-hosts and columbia livia
This locates the following record with the highlighted text as shown in the first sen-
tence of the DE field. Searching for
Columbia livia as a host of Acari parasites as
columbia livia near arachnid-parasites and acari
retrieves the same record with the highlighted text as shown in the second sentence of
the DE field.
