Searching BIOSIS Previews at HSU
BIOSIS Previews is a "natural language" index augmented with additional "controlled vocabulary" that captures the broader biological concepts and relationships associated with each indexed article. View this sample reference to see the depth of indexing associated with each reference.
This guide offers suggestions for constructing effective searches using a combination of natural language keywords and BIOSIS controlled vocabulary. It is oriented towards searching the BIOSIS Previews database using the Web of Knowledge platform.
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Keyword and Controlled Vocabulary Selection
Natural language keywords and phrases are derived from title, abstract, and other natural language keywords added by BIOSIS indexers.
Controlled vocabulary is taken from "authority file" lists maintained by BIOSIS. Controlled vocubulary fields have increased in number through the years as shown on the Indexing Field Availability graphic and are more fully described in BIOSIS Indexing Fields.
Controlled vocabulary can found using the following sources and techniques:
- BIOSIS Search Guide (ref QH 301 B373) - for each authority file a thesaurus lists Broader and Narrower Terms, Related Terms, Used For Terms, and Scope Notes. This guide contains the most complete controlled vocubulary descriptions.
- BIOSIS Controlled Vocabulary - includes 10 controlled vocabulary lists without the full thesaurus structure found in the BIOSIS Search Guide.
- Search aid lists within BIOSIS Previews.
- Execute a search in BIOSIS Previews and review the "complete record" of retrieved references for the controlled vocabulary used in indexing each reference. Re-do your search incorporating these additional controlled vocabulary terms.
Search Strategy Development
In searching BIOSIS Previews you should first develop a basic subject search strategy using the four steps that are described in the Search Strategy Worksheet. Briefly these are:
- Summarize your topic
- Identify topic concepts - these typically represent subject, taxonomy, geography, time, life stage, habitat, chemical substances or sequences, or disease concepts.
- Select concept words and phrases - both natural language keywords and controlled vocabulary ideally should be used in selecting concept words and phrases. BIOSIS/Biological Abstracts Searching Overview shows decision points for constructing searches that promote either maximum retrieval or high relevancy.
- Connect together words and concepts using boolean operators.
Searching Hints
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| Keywords: The default search automatically searches title, abstract and subject keywords |
(toxicity or toxicology) and metam sodium |
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| Word Truncation: Keywords can be truncated so that all word variations after a root word can be searched. This has the effect of increasing the number of related keywords you are searching | * is used for unlimited
suffix truncation swim* will retrieve swim, swimmers, swimming ? serves as a substitute for one character within or at the
end of a word $ represents zero or one character |
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| Concept Codes: Each reference is assigned one or more five digit codes and parallel text keywords which represent broad subject areas. For a list of these 571 codes see the BIOSIS Search Guide. Use of concept codes helps focus a search on a broad biological topic, eliminating the need for entering multiple synonymous keywords. | 07508
or CC=07508
ecology environmental biology animal or CC=ecology environmental biology animal |
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| Major Concepts: Includes 160 keywords representing broad biological concepts. See the BIOSIS Search Guide or Major Concepts for a list. | metabolism or MC=metabolism | ||
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| Chemicals and Biochemicals: Chemical compounds and drug names are used as they are given in each reference (natural language terms). They can be qualified with one or more 185 drug modifiers that describe their diagnostic or therapeutic actions. Drug modifiers are searched as keywords. For the authority file list of drug modifiers see the BIOSIS Search Guide or Drug Modifiers. | ribavirin (natural language term) antihelminthic drug or CB=antihelminthic drug |
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| CAS Registry Number: Composed of unique numbers assigned to every chemical compound that has been indexed in Chemical Abstracts. Use registry numbers in your search strategy for effective searching of chemical compounds rather than having to use chemical nomenclature. | 36791-04-5 or CA=36791-04-5 | ||
| Diseases: Diseases, disorders, and pathologies are used as they are given in each reference (natural language terms) and are qualified with one of 44 disease modifiers. See the BIOSIS Search Guide or Disease Modifiers for the authority file list of disease modifiers. |
bacterial kidney disease (natural language term) |
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| Parts, Structures, and Systems of Organisms: Organ systems and body parts are used as they are given in each reference (natural language terms) and are qualified with one of 15 organ system modifiers. See the BIOSIS Search Guide or the Organ System Modifiers for the "Authority File" list. |
spleen (natual language term) |
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| Geopolitical Locations: Specific geographic locations are used as they are given in each reference (natural language terms) and are qualified with one or more of the 421 terms for state, country, continent, and zoogeographical region as appropriate, e.g., Sacramento River, California, USA, North America, Nearctic region. In this example Sacramento River is the natural language keyword and all the other keywords are added geopolitical classifiers. See the BIOSIS Search Guide or Geographic Classifiers for the authority file list. These classifiers allow you to search at the geographic level of interest to you. | California or GE=California | ||
| Methods and Equipment: Natural language terms for methods, apparatus, or scientific techniques taken from the text of the reference. There is no controlled vocabulary. |
allogenic marrow tranportation or MQ= allogenic marrow tranportation |
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| Sequence Data: Composed of natural language keywords for databank accession numbers or other macormolecular sequence data and controlled keywords for sequence type. See the BIOSIS Search Guide or Sequence Type Modifers for the three sequence type terms used. |
amino acid sequence or SQ=amino acid sequence |
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| Organisms: Up to 20 scientific names of organisms are included for each reference. Common names are also added if given in the reference. One should search both common and scientific names for the most complete results. | haliotis rufescens or TA=haliotis
rufescens red abalone or TA=red abalone |
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| Super Taxa: Each reference is assigned one or more five-digit Biosystematic Codes and parallel super taxa names that represent taxomonic levels above the genus level. These codes allow you to search groups of organisms at higher taxonomic levels without having to enter every representative genera. Each specific super taxa category is exploded to include all higher level taxonomies, e.g., Caudata: Amphibia, Vertebrata, Chordata, Animalia. This allows you to choose the most appropriate taxonomic level for your search, e.g., caudata or amphibia or chordata or animalia. See the BIOSIS Search Guide for a list of these 1000 higher level taxonomic codes or Super Taxa for a list of the names. |
amphibia or TA=amphibia |
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| Taxa Notes: Each reference is assigned, as appropriate, one or more 65 taxa keywords that represent broad common/vernacular names of organisms,e.g., mammals. See the BIOSIS Search Guide or Taxa Notes for a list of theses names. Taxa notes allow you to search for groups of organisms at higher taxonomic levels without having to enter every representative genera. | mammals or TA=mammals | ||
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| echolocation in bats. |
echolocat* and (bat or bats or chiroptera) echolocat* and TA=chiroptera (will search chiroptera in super taxa field) echolocat* and TA=bats (will search bats in taxa notes field) |
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| asbestos toxicity to humans | asbestos* and MC=toxicology and TA=humans
(will search for toxicology in major concept
field and humans in taxa notes field)
asbestos* and toxic* and TA=hominidae (will search for hominidae in super taxa field) |
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| Bacterial kidney disease in salmon | kidney and bacterial disease and urologic disease and (salmon or oncorhynchus) (will search for bacterial disease and urologic disease in the disease affiliation field)
kidney and DS=bacterial disease and DS=urologic disease and (salmon or oncorhynchus) ( will search for bacterial disease and urologic disease in the disease affiliation field) |
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