Continuous Collection and Classification of Data as an Aid in

Continuous Collection and Classification of Data as an Aid in Preparing Surveys JOHN C. LANE and JOHN METSCHL 1

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Gulf Research & Development

Co., Pittsburgh,

Pa.

This paper outlines a scheme for preparing litera ture and patent surveys with a near minimum of time expenditure and a high degree of complete ness. The scheme consists primarily of the con tinuous collection, classification, and filing of cur rent literature and patents. As a result of this operation, surveys may be prepared directly from filed material without arduous searching through the abstract journals. Stenographic personnel may be utilized for much of the work to reduce the cost of the operation and conserve the time of technical personnel.

i f literature and patent surveys are to serve as guides for research programs, it is frequently essential and always highly desirable to prepare them i n the shortest possible time, so that the speedy development of an idea w i l l result i n a competi tive advantage. A patent may be obtained or a market may be captured if a proc ess can be brought to completion before a competitor's; yet a hastily contrived survey may be useless. Some reference overlooked may contain the key to success or failure. Thus the two main requirements of literature and patent surveys are that they be sufficiently comprehensive and that they be completed within as short a time as is consistent w i t h adequate coverage. These two requirements are, b y nature, somewhat opposed, and it is possible to satisfy both simultaneously only by con ducting a survey as efficiently as possible. Inasmuch as collection of material usually requires b y far the largest amount of time consumed i n the preparation of literature and patent surveys, and entirely determines the coverage, increasing the efficiency of the collection step is of para mount importance. T h e present paper outlines a scheme for preparing surveys w i t h a near m i n i m u m of time expenditure and a high degree of completeness, by continuous collection, classification, and filing of current literature and patents. Classification Smooth functioning of this scheme involves the teamwork of several sections 1

Present address, Ethyl Corp., Ferndale 20, Detroit, Mich. 254 SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

LANE AND METSCHL

Continuous Collection of Data

255

and a number of individuals, each section contributing its services according to its facilities and each individual according to his particular training. T h e backbone of the entire scheme is the index classification system developed b y G u l f Research & Development Co.'s fellowship at M e l l o n Institute; b y use of this system both the literature a n d the patents are classified and filed for ready reference. T h e 9 main divisions shown i n Table I, Divisions Β through J, classify mate rial pertinent to the petroleum products, while the other divisions provide classifica tions for all other material relating to the petroleum industry.


Table I. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J.

Main Divisions of Mellon Institute File Index System

Miscellaneous Gas Gasoline and other motor fuels Kerosine Gas oil, fuel oil, and fuels Lubricants and lubrication Wax and petrolatum Asphalt and coke Crude oils By-products and miscellaneous petroleum products

L.

Chemistry and chemical composition M . Physical properties N . Testing, analysis, and specifications O. Equipment P, Q, R. Open S. Production, pipelines, and storage T . Distillation U . Treating chemically V . Treating physically W . Cracking

E a c h main division is subdivided into as many classes as are required b y the amount a n d type of information to be classified. Table II shows the breakdown of the lubricants and lubrication division. T h e first letter i n the file designation for each class is that of the main division, i n this case F for lubricants and lubrica tion. T h e second letter indicates the particular class within the main division. A number of classes are provided for lubricant products, while others exist for classi fication of information relating to production, specifications, testing, etc. E a c h class is further divided as extensively as has proved to be useful. Since the system was initiated prior to 1927, it is not surprising that a number of subclasses have since been added, as have some classes and even a f e w main divisions. Table II. FA. FB. FC. FD. FE. FF. FG. FH. FI.

Breakdown of Typical Main Division of File Index System

Miscellaneous, general Nonviscous oils. Textile oils Turbine oils Industrial lubricants Motor oils Open Cutting and emulsifying oils Cylinder and bright stocks, car journal, black oils Compounded lubricants, thick ened lubricants, additions

F M . Greases and soaps, transmission, chassis, extreme pressure l u bricants F N . Properties and composition F O . Theory of lubrication F P . Specifications ( of petroleum l u bricants) F R . Preparation FS. Equipment

Table III shows h o w the classes are broken down into subclasses. T h e F I class has been taken as an example to continue the account of the breakdown of the F main division. T h e subclasses are designated b y number and further d i v i sions b y lower case letters. T h e paragraph just under the class heading indicates briefly and rather incompletely the type of material filed under the class. However, subclasses may be added as needs dictate. Filing Both the literature and patents are continuously classified a n d filed b y use of SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

256

ADVANCES

IN

CHEMISTRY

SERIES

this classification system. A card file, a reprint file, a n d a patent file are main tained. T h e c a r d file contains references to all or almost all of the existing material on each subject; the reprint file contains the f u l l text of a large number of the best articles on each subject; and the patent file holds a l l pertinent patents classified b y subject matter. Thus it is possible, at a moment's notice, to extract the classifi cations desired, and find instantly at hand all the material necessary for a complete survey.


Table III.

Breakdown of Typical Class of File Index System

FI.

Compounded Lubricants, Thickened Lubricants, Additions (See also M C - 4 a , GB-2a, L H - 4 ) Additions of compounds for improving lubricating oils, viscosity improvement, increasing film strength, pournpoint depression, oiliness agents, compounded oils, synthetic oils, fatty acids as lubricants, linseed oil, rapeseed oil ( including blown), castor oil and castor oil blends, rubber in lubricants, tin compounds, Exanol, Paratone, Vistones, etc., penetrating oils, electrochemical oils. F I - 1 . General (miscellaneous) FI—la. Graphite lubricants Aquadag, Oildag, graphite, analysis theory of graphite lubri cation FI-2. Improving viscosity and viscosity index FI-^3. Oiliness, extreme pressure, film strength F I - 4 . Anticorrosion agents FI-^5. Antioxidants FI-6. Detergents Sludge dispersers Carbon preventives FI-7. Anti-ring-sticking agents A l t h o u g h these files are great timesavers w h e n a survey is to be prepared, they require surprisingly little time to maintain i n current condition. Division of effort prevents taking more than a small fraction of any one person's time, and steno graphic help is employed as far as possible. Selection of

Material

A t M e l l o n Institute, the senior fellow makes selections from a number of out standing periodicals, i n c l u d i n g Chemical Abstracts, Journal of the American Chem ical Society, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Petro leum Refiner, S. A . E. Journal, Petroleum Engineer, and Petroleum Processing. H e indicates whether a card is to be made for an article, whether it is to be c l i p p e d and added to the reprint file, or both. This work is done i n his o d d moments. Another member of the fellowship, who also heads the library at G u l f Research & Development C o . , classifies the senior fellow's selections according to the index system described. T a k i n g Chemical Abstracts as an example, about 2 hours of classification are required per issue, and an average of around 100 abstracts are classified. This amounts to only a little over 1 minute per abstract. F r o m this point, the additions to the files become a stenographic job. F o r articles i n journals other than Chemical Abstracts, cards listing the bibliographic data, but containing no abstract, are made and filed under the indicated classifica tion, and selected articles are clipped and filed. In the case of Chemical Abstracts, the abstracts themselves are c l i p p e d , pasted on cards, a n d filed according to classi fication. These Chemical Abstracts cards replace the cards containing only biblio graphic data, the latter serving an interim purpose i n keeping the file u p to date. Thus, as far as the literature is concerned, the card file is as complete as the coverSEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.


LANE AND METSCHL


257

age of Chemical Abstracts, and the reprint file contains articles from the leading journals i n the field. T h e patent phase of the work is handled somewhat differently b u t i n an equally efficient manner. T h e head of the Patent Section of G u l f Research & Development C o . examines each copy of the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office for patents of interest. H e then obtains copies of the patents, roughly classifies them, and sends them to qualified persons at the research laboratories for abstracting. Since each m a n receives only patents which directly pertain to his specialty, the abstracting involves a m i n i m u m of mental effort—hence time. T h e patents, accompanied b y copies of the abstracts, are then sent to M e l l o n Institute for classification and filing i n a manner analogous to the w a y i n w h i c h the literature is handled. Information Bulletins These procedures serve a number of purposes i n addition to maintaining the files. F o r example, the selections made i n Chemical Abstracts are checked for completeness of coverage both at M e l l o n Institute a n d at G u l f Research, a n d a mimeographed bulletin is prepared for each issue; it contains a l l the abstracts considered b y the selectors to be of interest to G u l f Research personnel. This bulletin, prepared b y the Information Section, is so arranged that individual ab stracts can be clipped f r o m it, pasted on file cards, a n d added to each man's per sonal file. T h e patent abstracts are published monthly i n a mimeographed bulletin put out b y the Patent Section. Thus, the entire technical personnel of the company is kept abreast of current developments i n the field, a n d each m a n may b u i l d a personal file to suit his particular needs. The Information Section, whose chief function is the preparation of literature and patent surveys, utilizes all the previously mentioned facilities and, i n addition, has adopted several other aids. O n e of the most valuable of these is the use of standardized abstract forms i n conducting a search. Separate forms are available for periodical, book, a n d patent references. T h e periodical and patent forms are illustrated i n Figure 1. Abstract Forms T h e fact that each item of information always appears i n the same place o n the abstract form simplifies, b y systematization, both collection of the information and its subsequent utilization. M u c h of the " l e g w o r k " and " p e n c i l p u s h i n g " con nected w i t h collection of search information may, therefore, be relegated to steno graphic personnel. W h e n it becomes necessary to make a detailed search for abstracts pertaining to some given subject, a technical m a n needs only to consult an index—for example, the Chemical Abstracts index—jot d o w n the page number of each pertinent abstract, and h a n d it to a copy girl who locates each abstract for h i m b y marking the places w i t h bits of paper. H e then q u i c k l y skims the abstracts to judge their pertinence and b y supplying authors' names or patent numbers i n d i cates w h i c h abstracts are to be copied on forms. F i g u r e 2 typifies the information provided o n the completed notation sheet. T h e copy girl types the selected ab stracts o n the standard forms and files the completed forms i n loose-leaf binders for future use. T h e loose-leaf feature permits arrangement of the literature references alphabetically b y author and the patent references b y country and patent number; such an arrangement is made at the conclusion of the search. Also, the references SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

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are checked for pertinence and completeness, and each abstract is given a reference number. If the search form of presentation is to be followed, the typist can i m mediately begin stenciling from the abstract books while the technical man pre pares a subject index to the search. Use of loose-leaf abstract forms is of particular value i n the continuous collec tion of data for supplements to existing searches or surveys. A s two of its services, the Information Section issues a Weekly Literature Notification Bulletin, w h i c h calls attention to articles of interest i n the current literature, and the Chemical Ab stracts bulletin already mentioned. D u r i n g the preparation of each, abstract forms are filled out for all articles on subjects for w h i c h supplements w i l l eventually be SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

LANE AND METSCHL

259


required. In the case of the literature notification bulletin, only bibliographic data are recorded on the forms, but i n the case of the Chemical Abstracts bulletin, the abstracts are also included. W h e n the supplement is to be prepared, a l l that is required is to add available material, if any, from sources other than Chemical Ah

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Figure 2. Notation sheet supplied copy girl to fill out standard abstract forms stracts and begin typing. Figure 3 shows h o w selections for supplements requiring search and surveys are made, simultaneously, w i t h selections for the Weekly Litera ture Notification Bulletin a n d the addition of articles to the sections files. T h e only time technical skill is required is when the selections are made. After they are recorded on the form shown i n F i g u r e 3, a stenographer fills out the forms, makes additions to the files, a n d prepares the bulletin. D u r i n g the page b y page check of Chemical Abstracts for the abstract bulletin, notations are made of a l l abstracts to be added to the supplement books on the standardized forms, a n d the stenog rapher w h o prepares the bulletin does this. Figure 4 shows a typical notation sheet for this operation. SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

260

ADVANCES IN CHEMISTRY

Advantages

SERIES

of System

In all these methods for facilitating the preparation of searches a n d surveys, the work has been reduced to the stenographic level wherever possible. This is important both to keep the over-all cost down and to conserve the time of the tech-

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nical personnel for other duties. Technical time has been further conserved by combining functions—for example, making selections for the supplement abstract books at the time w h e n the literature notation and Chemical Abstracts bulletins are being prepared. T h e final test of any scheme, system, or process is—what does i t offer? T h e continuous collection, classification, and filing of literature and patents as outlined SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

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Continuous Collection and Classification of Data as an Aid in

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