Searching Sirsi: Proximity Operators: "near, adj, same, with"

Definition

• Proximity operators (Sirsi calls them "positional" operators) are useful, special-purpose words that are used to find words that would be commonly or logically in near conjunction with each other.

Operators

• near
  • In Sirsi this means the search terms must be immediately adjacent to one another in either order.
  • Example: united near counties would find:
    • The counties united against the state government.
    • The united counties opposed the state government
• adj
  • The terms must be immediately adjacent to each other in the order that they are entered.
  • Example: united adj counties would only find:
    • The united counties opposed the state government
• same
  • The terms must be in the same field.
  • This includes subfields in the case of the subject field.
  • Example: argentina same travel would find:
    • If a subject field search, articles that have the subject heading "argentina--study and travel"
    • If a keyword search, articles that have argentina and travel anywhere in each of the fields that are searched.
• with
  • The terms must be in the same sentence in the same field
  • Example: argentina same travel would find:
    • If a text field search, the sentences:
      • We found that travel in western Argentina could be difficult.
      • In Argentina, the investments in modern highways has made motor travel much easier.

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