A. Commands employed:
EXPAND (E)
--to view search terms in Basic Index, use E followed by search
term of interest
--to view search terms in Additional Index, use E followed by
appropriate prefix and search term ( e.g., au=einstein)
PAGE (P)
--frequently used after the DISPLAY and EXPAND commands
a. both commands produce a limited number of lines
b. PAGE causes the display to continue
--prompted by following messages:
a. more (DISPLAY)
b. Enter P or E for more (EXPAND)
PAGE- (P-)
--displays the previous page, or screen, of the record currently
being viewed
--cannot be used while viewing the first screen
SELECT (S)
--creates a single numbered set
--it lists any intermediate results but does not assign them set numbers
--can SELECT from an EXPAND e.g., ? select e6
B. 2 main types of thesauri:
1. hierarchical--indicates ranking of subject headings either
a. from a broad level down to one or more narrower levels
b. from general subject headings down to more specific
headings
2. non-hierarchical
a. usually lists preferred indexing terms
b. can also list synonymous terms
C. DIALOG databases providing online thesauri are given under
the command HELP THESAURI
D. Explode feature
1. used to obtain retrieval of all occurrences of a specified search
term plus all narrower related terms
2. uses the SELECT command and the exclamation (!) mark as
a "truncation" symbol to request retrieval
3. if used with thesaurus terms for which no narrower terms exist,
the system will
a. return results for the single term
b. display a message indicating that there are no narrower terms
E. Example:
? e independent schools
Ref Items RT Index-term
E1 1 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 252 MN
E2 1 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 279 MN
E3 1 1 *INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
E4 1 INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INFORMATION SERVICE
E5 8 INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM
E6 1 INDEPENDENT SECTOR
E7 1 INDEPENDENT STUDENT EVALUATION
E8 0 1 INDEPENDENT STUDENTS (SELF SUPPORTING)
E9 3053 25 INDEPENDENT STUDY
E10 1 INDEPENDENT STUDY AND SEMINAR PROGRAM
E11 1 INDEPENDENT STUDY IN THE HUMANITIES FELLOW
E12 3 INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM
Enter P or E for more
? e e3
Ref Items Type RT Index-term
R1 1 1 *INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
R2 2254 U 10 PRIVATE SCHOOLS
? e r2
Ref Items Type RT Index-term
R1 2254 10 *PRIVATE SCHOOLS
R2 1 U 1 INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
R3 0 U 1 NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS
R4 687 N 8 PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
R5 2874 N 12 PRIVATE COLLEGES
R6 419 N 9 PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS
R7 103912 B 115 SCHOOLS
R8 124 R 8 CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS
R9 379 R 14 PRIVATE EDUCATION
R10 464 R 19 PRIVATE SCHOOL AID
R11 57 R 8 SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS
? s r1 or r5
2254 PRIVATE SCHOOLS
2874 PRIVATE COLLEGES
s1 5080 "PRIVATE SCHOOLS" OR "PRIVATE COLLEGES"