Searching Dialog: Field/Index Searching with Suffixes

Scope

• Suffix codes are used to restrict retrieval to specified basic index fields of a record.
• The basic index contains terms from subject-related fields.
• Use of suffixes is optional, because the basic index fields are what are searched when you put in search terms without any suffixes or prefixes.
• Specific fields and codes vary according to the database, so you have to check the Bluesheets for each database to determine which codes are available.
• In Telnet, to learn what fields are in a particular database, type help field <# of database>

Common Suffix Codes

Suffix	Format	Examples, Notes
Descriptor	/de	ss (physicist? or astrophysicist?)/de NOTE: These are standard terms in the thesaurus for an individual database. Unfortunately, you may have to get the thesaurus from the database provider to determine what are suitable descriptors.
Identifier	/id	ss space(w)shuttle/id NOTE: These are "uncontrolled" terms that are largely derived from the indexing of the documents in the database. Check the bluesheets to see if the ID field is available.
Title	/ti	ss england and unicorns/ti
Abstract	/ab	s southwest(w)airlines?/ti,ab
Publication Year	/py	ss hurricanes/1998
Note	/nt	s frequency/nt
Section Heading	/sh	s ocean/sh

Using Multiple Suffixes

• Multiple suffix codes can be used, with each separated by a comma ", ".
• Example: s southwest(w)airlines?/ti,ab

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