DATABASE SEARCH MODEL AND DEFINITIONS:

DEFINITIONS:

Here is an explanatory list of terms useful for understanding the search procedure.

DESCRIPTOR (תארן):  Controlled term.   Can be one word or more.  A controlled term is a pre-selected term that is applied
to all articles on a given subject.  The use of controlled terms obviates the need to search synonyms or grammatical forms.

THESAURUS (תזאורוס) :  Dictionary of controlled terms in alphabetical order.  For each item, additional terms are given that
are related to the former either hierarchically or laterally. The purpose of the thesaurus is to enable the searcher to find
the most appropriate controlled term and to alert him/her to additional terms not previously considered.
A typical thesaurus term entry includes the following fields:
   Scope note (הערה) - a note of explanation
   SEE (ראה)- referral to a different but synonymous term
   Narrower term (מונח צר) - referral to a narrower (more specific) term on the hierarchic ladder
   Broader term (מונח רחב) - referral to a broader (more general) term on the hierarchic ladder
   Related term (מונח קשור) - referral to a term related to the subject in a non-hierarchic manner, i.e.,
   neither narrower nor broader)

Each descriptor that appears in the thesaurus can also be listed as a narrower, broader or related term of another descriptor.
Selection of appropriate terms is a mandatory    condition for a successful search.  The outstanding advantage of the thesaurus,
consolidation of synonymous terms under one descriptor, simplifies the search and results in a high level of precision in retrieval. 
The outstanding disadvantage of the thesaurus is that it usually takes a long time for a new scientific term to be added to the thesaurus;
in this case, a free language search is required.

FREE LANGUAGE (שפה חפשית):  Any term or phrase not taken from the database's thesaurus. When no controlled dictionary exists or
when the term is too new to appear as a descriptor, the searcher must prepare a list of appropriate terms for a free language search.
Take care that all terms that represent the research subject appear, even if they are synonymous. To assure this:
   1) Use subject dictionaries, other bibliographic sources, etc.
   2)  Refrain from using terms with more than one meaning.
   3)  Take care to cover all grammatical forms: e.g., singular and plural, noun and  adjective.  For example: immigrant, immigrants,
        immigrated, immigration.  This  can be done by shortening the word to its most basic form and adding the  "wildcard" symbol,
        for example:  immigra*   (The symbol varies according to the database.)  The search must be performed on the entire entry or
       on the title  and abstract fields, not in the descriptor field.

BOOLEAN OPERATORS (אופרטורים בוליאניים) :   AND (וגם)     OR (או)    NOT (ולא)
Boolean operators make possible complex searches that use a number of terms to narrow or broaden the search.
The operator OR  (או) broadens the search.
The operator AND (וגם) narrows the search.
The operator NOT (ולא) narrows the search by removing a more specific subject from a more general one.
The search strategy is made up of search terms combined using the above rules.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRY (רשומה ביבליוגרפית) :  Information on a bibliographic item, divided into fields, for example:  AU= author,
TI= title, SO= source (name of the journal in which the article was published), etc.

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