Searching the Index

Britannica CD includes an Index, a comprehensive database of topic references determined to have substantial coverage in the article database. An Index search can therefore provide a more refined way to locate certain types of information.

As an example, if you search on citizen ADJ kane in the article database, you will retrieve 10 hits, some of which are marginal mentions. This same query made in the Index will result in only one hit, the Index entry "Citizen Kane." This in turn points to only those articles that contain substantial discussion of the movie and related topics.

Keyword Searching

To search the Index, you use keywords rather than questions. A keyword search will retrieve all Index listings where the search word appears. This can provide a more comprehensive search result, especially if you are not sure exactly what you are looking for.

For example, if you want to look up the name of a bridge in a print Index, you must know the actual name of the bridge. With the Index keyword search in Britannica CD, this is not necessary. When you do an Index search on bridge, you get all entries that include the word bridge in the title. In another example, if you search on wallaby, you get the main Index listing for wallaby, but also eight additional references, including rock and pretty-faced wallaby.

Searches in the Index are limited to Index listings, or entry heads. Under a specific entry head will be found an expanded list of subentries so you can find the precise information you are looking for. Select the appropriate hotlink and you will be brought to the corresponding text section where the information is located.

Note: If your search is unsuccessful you may want to use more specific terms. When you search the index, the stopword list is not used, so all words will be searched. If you do a search on a specific title like “all’s well that ends well,” all words are considered part of the search.

Informative tags

When searching the Index, you can conduct searches on identifiers as well as on Index entry heads. Identifiers categorize entry heads by topics, and appear in parenthesis after an entry head. Identifiers are usually abbreviations. You will find a list of the abbreviations used in the online Help file.

For example, use identifier=archae. to retrieve all entries identified as archaeology, or identifier=Belg.. to retrieve all geographical entries identified with Belgium.

Additional Tips for Using the Index

The following tips may also help when conducting Index searches:

In the Index, as elsewhere in Britannica CD, any word that is underlined and in blue is hypertext linked to another place in the Index or articles.
As in the print indices, see indicates a cross-reference and tells you to go to another entry in the Index for information. See also indicates that there is additional or related information on a subject in another entry in the Index.
Passim indicates that the discussion of a subject spans a number of paragraphs.
"Ref 1," "Ref 2," etc. indicate that there is more than one reference being cited for a subentry.

For specific examples of Index searches, see the table below.

Index Search Table

The Index Search differs from the Text Search in three primary ways. In the Index Search there is no truncation, no stopwords, and only entry heads are evaluated. Alternate names, identifiers, and individual references under an entry head are not searched. To search the identifier field, use the informative tag shown in the last two examples in the table below.

Search for Looks for Index Entry Heads with Explanation

german shepherd "german" or "shepherd" Will find occurrences where either of these occur

german ADJ shepherd "german" and "shepherd" Boolean operator ADJ requires hit to have both terms, in sequence

as you like it "as", "you", "like", or "it" Since there are no stopwords in an Index Search, all words are considered for the search

dog "dog", "Dog", or "DOG" If you type in "dogs" many references are found only one entry will be found, "Huntsman and Dogs"; there are few plurals in the Index. We recommend using singulars ("computer," not "computers")

AIDS "AIDS", which is an exact match If you use "Aids" no entries will be found; however, a search on the all lowercase "aids," which is not case-sensitive, would also find "AIDS"

identifier=chem. (chem.) Informative tag searches identifiers for terms that are identified as chemistry, chemical, or chemist and are abbreviated with the identifier (chem.)

identifier=(Fr. AND chem.) (Fr. AND chem.) Informative tag looks for identifiers that include the abbreviations for French and chemist. Use of parentheses ensures that both terms are searched for in the identifier, not the entry head

Search for	Looks for Index Entry Heads with	Explanation
german shepherd	"german" or "shepherd"	Will find occurrences where either of these occur
german ADJ shepherd	"german" and "shepherd"	Boolean operator ADJ requires hit to have both terms, in sequence
as you like it	"as", "you", "like", or "it"	Since there are no stopwords in an Index Search, all words are considered for the search
dog	"dog", "Dog", or "DOG"	If you type in "dogs" many references are found only one entry will be found, "Huntsman and Dogs"; there are few plurals in the Index. We recommend using singulars ("computer," not "computers")
AIDS	"AIDS", which is an exact match	If you use "Aids" no entries will be found; however, a search on the all lowercase "aids," which is not case-sensitive, would also find "AIDS"
identifier=chem.	(chem.)	Informative tag searches identifiers for terms that are identified as chemistry, chemical, or chemist and are abbreviated with the identifier (chem.)
identifier=(Fr. AND chem.)	(Fr. AND chem.)	Informative tag looks for identifiers that include the abbreviations for French and chemist. Use of parentheses ensures that both terms are searched for in the identifier, not the entry head