How to Search

 

Using Collexis Search


Why is Collexis Search different from other search engines? An important difference from normal search engines is that Collexis uses a thesaurus - a structured list of terms (or concepts ) that are relevant for the subject area - to do a search, as well as a standard text search. The specific thesaurus for sustainable urban development is being developed in co-operation with EUKN.

The term " Fingerprint " is used to indicate a relevance-ordered list of concepts from the thesaurus that have been recognised in a text. Fingerprints provide a very efficient way to find out what a document is about.

By using the thesaurus and the fingerprints, the Collexis search is able to provide more comprehensive results to match your queries.

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How do you start a search? Searching starts by typing one or more words in the text field, or by copying and pasting a longer text fragment into it. For example, you can paste in a text from a Word document or a website.

To start the search, press the "Search" button on the screen or hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

It is possible to filter by category by clicking the "Set filter(s)" button next to the "Search" button. In the demo version, it is now possible to search only for practices or only for research documents. Clicking on "Clear filter(s)" resets the filter.

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How do we interpret the results of a search? After hitting the Enter key or clicking the search button, search results appear in four tabs, called 'Susta-Info', 'Susta-Info experts', 'EUKN' and 'EUKN experts'. Clicking on the titles of found items will open a new window.

Links from the 'Susta-Info' tab open a window with a detailed description of the item that includes a summary of the document, different classifications to determine the relevance to cities and links to documents and websites. For practices, a more elaborate validation has been developed by the Susta-Info team. The results of this validation are displayed in a coloured bar, consisting of different shades of brown. Learn more about the validation methodology in the 'Susta-Info Methodology' section of the Susta-Info site.

'Susta-Info experts' results link to a window with contact information and to a list of documents produced by the expert.

The information provided for the 'EUKN' and 'EUKN experts' tabs are similar. Susta-Info has established a partnership with EUKN ( website ) that consists of joint technology development and the possibility to search in each other's databases.

The top 5 concepts: these are the five most relevant concepts from the thesaurus found in the selected document. A more complete overview of relevant concepts from the thesaurus can be seen by clicking on "show fingerprint". The overview of concepts provides you with a quick glance of the relevance of a certain document.

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How do you refine your search? The Susta-Info site offers different ways to refine your search:
  • Add proposed thesaurus concepts to your search
  • Search with fingerprints of found documents
  • Modify the weights of concepts within a fingerprint
  • Select new concepts by searching the thesaurus
Adding proposed concepts to your search
To the left of the search results is a section called "Concepts". This section will show concepts from the thesaurus if any have been recognised in the text entered in the search field. If no concept is recognised, this section will be empty.

Below the Concepts section is the "Proposed concepts" section. It contains a list of concepts found in the combined search results. You can add one or more of the concepts to your search and start a new query.

Searching with fingerprints of found documents
The concepts in a fingerprint of a found document can be used to start a new search. Starting a search with the concepts of just one document can be done by clicking on "use for search". Using multiple document fingerprints to search is done by selecting multiple search results by clicking their check boxes and clicking on the "Search with selected" button, located at the top of the list.

Modify the weights of concepts within a fingerprint
It is also possible to modify the fingerprint used to perform a search. Next to every concept in the "Concepts" section at the left, is a 'slider' indicating the relative importance of the concept when searching with it. Clicking on the scale more towards the left of it will move the brown globe to that position and reduce the concept's importance; clicking more to the right will increase it. Dragging the brown globe across the scale is also possible. Clicking the circle to the left of the scale means the concept will not appear in the search results, and similarly clicking the circle to the right of it makes the concept a required one.

It is also possible to remove a concept from the search fingerprint by clicking the checkbox to the left of it and on the "Delete selected concepts" button. Adding concepts from the proposed concepts is possible by clicking checkboxes next to these and clicking on "Add Selected". When the search fingerprint is ready, a new search can be started by clicking on "Search with this fingerprint".

Select more concepts by searching the thesaurus
Concepts not displayed in "Proposed concepts" can be added by switching to the "Search thesaurus" section, available in the brown menu bar at the top of the page. The current search fingerprint will be visible at the left of the page. Entering text in the search box and clicking on "Search for concept" will show concepts from the thesaurus that match the search query. Checking the boxes next to them and clicking on "Add concepts" will add selected concepts to the search fingerprint.

Clicking "Explore" next to a concept will go up one level in the thesaurus hierarchy, so related concepts can be found by browsing. Clicking on a concept next to "Parent" will go up another level in the hierarchy. When a concept is selected here, and "Add concepts recursively" is clicked, all concepts below the selected concept will be added to the search fingerprint as well. Once the search fingerprint is complete, a search can be started by clicking the "Search" button at the upper left.

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