3.5 Field Searching
Most search engines and databases search "words anywhere" or
"keywords" automatically unless you select another type of search.
Keyword searching finds matches for your terms in any field of a record
or any part of a Web page, so you will typically retrieve more
information with less precision. This is known as "recall" searching
because it focuses on recalling as much information as possible.
Databases and search engines may allow searching in specific fields
such as author, title, url (Web address), or subject and will sometimes
refer to this as "advanced," or "expert" searching. These searches will
typically retrieve less information with more precision. This is called
"precision" searching because it focuses on finding only precisely what
you need.
For example:
RED + BLUE + GREEN |
Tie=RED, Shirt=BLUE, Beret=GREEN |
If you are a detective and the only clues you have for a missing
persons case are the words "red," "blue,"
and "green," these people could be a
match. This is keyword searching.
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If instead you knew your person had a red tie, blue shirt, and a
green beret, you have a better chance of finding the right person.
This is field searching.
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recall v. precision | keyword v.
field
We recommend recall/keyword searching when you are doing either a
large original research project or are looking for a rare or unique
term (e.g. rapper and musical artist Eminem). Recall allows you to find anything remotely
related to a topic. Doctoral students and professional researchers
typically perform these searches early in their research in order to
identify everything already published about their focus area.
Recall/keyword searching can also be an effective strategy for
identifying subject terms from a few relevant records to prepare for
a subject field search later.
We recommend precision/field searching when you need to find a
relatively small number of sources on a specific topic. Precision
searching is most useful for smaller projects like course term
papers, problem-solving activities, and making consumer choices.
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