| Criteria |
SilverPlatter |
CSA |
| 1. Searching Capabilities: |
|
|
Free Text searches in the following fields:
- (ti,au,in,da,as,jn,pb,nt,ab,dem,des,ip,sh)
Users can also limit a search statement to any of 27 possible indexes.
|
| AB= Abstract |
|
AF= Author Affiliation
|
| AN= Accession Number |
| AU= Author |
| CA= Corporate Author |
|
CF= Conference
|
|
CL= Classification
|
|
DE= Descriptors
|
|
ED= Editor
|
|
IB= ISBN
|
|
ID= Identifiers
|
|
IS= ISSN
|
|
LA= Language
|
|
NT= Notes
|
|
NU=Other Numbers
|
|
[publisher number in Findex]
|
|
OT= Original Title
|
|
PB= Publisher
|
|
PT= Publication Type
|
|
PY= Publication Year
|
|
SF= Subfile
|
|
SL= Summary Language
|
|
SO= Source
|
| TI= Title |
|
|
|
There is only one search screen. Users can opt to
use all or none of the additional features. The searching capabilities
are as advanced as the searcher. |
Basic and Advanced
- Basic: Author, Title &Any field
- Advanced:
The advanced search box allows you to specify the fields in which
words appear using two-letter Field Codes.
Not clear or explained anywhere on the page. User MUST go to the
help in order to figure out how to use the boxes.
|
|
|
* - asterisk can be used to substitute for one or
many characters. Can be embedded or hanging. Cannot be the first character.
? Is forgiven and actually works. |
* - asterisk can be used to substitute for one or
many characters. Can be embedded or hanging. Cannot be the first character.
Penalized for using ?
|
|
|
- Nicely laid out in the default and can be customized to satisfy
the users. The initial screen can be All search history, all record-display
or a screen split between the two.
- Additionally, the search history window automatically breaks
phrases up and searches on the individual words before combining.
This is a boon for an end-user since the individual words can
then be recombined in a new search statement without having to
type in the word again.
|
- The advanced/basic search boxes are on the page that lists all
60 databases. So clicking on the back button to reword the search
statement requires that the user must wait for the entire list
of databases to come up as well, about 25 seconds.
- Worse yet, the search boxes are below that long list of databases.
So the user has to scroll down to fix a typo or add an *. Very
clunky.
|
|
|
Yes. |
No. |
|
|
Yes by using the "in" statement to find a word "in"
a particular index. |
Yes. By advanced search and limiting by fields. |
|
|
Yes. Each step of the search is assigned a number
that can be used to re-run the search in new ways. |
No. The users must restructure the search statement
and resubmit it. |
|
|
Yes. Just double-click on the previous search statement. |
No. |
|
|
Yes. The searcher can double-click on a word phrase
or subject heading and click on the add to search button. |
No. |
|
|
Yes. Results are displayed in a history window.
To undo, the user need only click on the previous search statement. |
No. |
|
|
Yes. Too many to list. (All 27 searchable fields
also have browsable indexes.) |
No. |
| 2. Help/Guidance: |
|
|
|
|
Yes. |
|
|
|
No. Not when user has not done anything that results
in an error message. Standard windows help guides. Helpful nonetheless
but only if the user is comfortable using that type of help. |
"Your request is not complete and therefore cannot
retrieve results.
Use your browser's BACK button to return to your search page and
complete your search request. You must: Choose at least one database
to search by
clicking inside a checkbox that precedes the database title. Enter
at least one search term in one of the search field boxes."
This was not helpful since I had already done both things.
|
|
|
The error messages are good and have a help button
that will bring up context sensitive help. |
All error message say the same thing. Insufficient
information is given to actually help the end-user correct the initial
search statement. |
|
|
Yes. |
No. |
|
|
Yes. |
Yes. |
|
|
Yes. |
Yes. |
| 3. Display/Delivery: |
|
|
|
|
Yes. And changeable if the user decided that it
is! |
No. Results screen is ok. The search screen is awful
since the user has to scroll past 60 database names before they arrive
at the search box. |
|
|
Brief/All fields button is available on screen.
Users can also chose to customize the display fields. Any or all are
available as part of the display for the duration of the search session. |
1) Full record (all fields, including abstract,
where present)
2) Citation format (title, author, and source fields are included)
3) Citation & Abstract format (tags from citation plus the
abstract field)
|
|
|
Any or all of the 27 fields can be selected by the
end-user for display. Also has some packaged options like, Citn or
fields with hits only, etc. |
Any or all. |
|
|
Any or all fields can be downloaded, formatted ascii. |
ASCII with an option to select your platform. |
|
|
Yes. |
Done oddly. The user has a click box. After selecting
records to display the user scrolls down to the bottom of the screen.
The first box available for use at this point is View Marked Records.
It would seem logical that after putting check boxes in next to the
record I should be able to then view them. Unfortunately, after clicking
on View marked records I received an error screen that told me I hadn't
marked anything. Upon returning to the result screen, I discovered
that the next box said Capture marked records. The capture screen
has option for display, download and format. I am still unsure what
the View Marked Records button was for and why it was placed before
the capture button. |
|
|
Yes. |
No. Ranked by relevancy. Not useful if you were
not able to run an good search anyway. |
|
|
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Any. |
Any |
|
|
No. Not available on a LAN system |
Yes. Email is available, not mail or fax. |
|
|
N/A |
For screen display the results are in courier and
left justified. Very utilitarian. |
|
|
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Yes. |
No. There is a next group button the user must click
in order to move on to the next group of records. |
|
|
No. |
No. |
| Comparative Search:
(rational near suicide) not euthanas* not adolescen* not elderly
not book-review
|
Searched 1/74-12/97
18 results.
2 seconds.
Good results.
|
1963-current
Searched only
"Rational suicide"
couldn't run the full search that I ran in SilverPlatter.
Retrieved 14 records.
Took 2 minutes!
Results unsatisfactory since I had to "manually not-out" elderly euthanasia
etc. |
FAQ
