Basic Principles of Literature Searching JULIAN F. SMITH, 5 7 1 5 Crawford Drive, Rockville, Md.
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CHARLOTTE M. SCHALER, Sinclair Refining Co., New York, Ν. Y.
Initially, the literature searcher should have a clear conception of the precise subject of his search, the time interval and sources to be covered, and the ultimate use of the information. Use of prior bibliog raphies often simplifies a search. Headings to be checked in subject indexes must be selected with care for each index examined, as subject headings vary in different indexes. The searcher must be discrimi nating in the selection of references and in estab lishing the point at which the search should be ter minated. Presentation of results may vary depending on what form will be of most value to the reader.
S o m e of the fundamental rules for searching technical literature may seem so obvious that any searcher would surely heed them. Y e t beginners often ignore them. E v e n experienced searchers sometimes neglect them, perhaps from overconfidence. The funda mental rules are presented, not as a sermon with a stern decalog of thou-shalt-nots, but as a pentalog which searchers might well engrave on a jeweled breastplate, worn even i n sleep. D r a w clear boundary lines, and work within them. Seek first the work of prior bibliographers. F i t word-keys i n advance to the locks guarding information. Stay on the beam of actual (rather than apparent) pertinence, persisting only as long as persistence is profitable. Adapt the presentation to the intended use.
Establishment of Boundary Lines of Subject Boundary lines are essential, not only for subject coverage but also for the time period, source coverage, and even the uses the information is to serve. The searcher must dis cipline himself to formulate his interests exactly. When he is instructing a professional searcher as to the requirements, accurate statement is a l l the more important. The temptation to proceed from quick-and-easy but fuzzy premises is strong and must be resisted. Professional searchers should question inquirers patiently until the boundary is clear. Inquirers should respond with equal care and patience, making sure the record is straight before the search begins. Often an inquirer is not clear i n his own mind until the question-and-answer session blows away the mists. As to time period, patent searches set the most exact limits. T o find what U . S. patents are now i n force the search goes back exactly 17 years. F o r anticipation i t starts with the beginning of the art, but ends one year before the filing date of the questioned application or patent, since the inventor has a year after the disclosure date i n which to file. Other considerations permit or impose other time limits. Searchers are some times asked to consider only the live literature, which may mean anything from a year to a generation i n age, according to whether the art is burgeoning or slow-moving. 438
In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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SMITH AND SCHALER—BASIC PRINCIPLES O F LITERATURE SEARCHING
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Among sources, a single prior bibliography may free the searcher up to the point where his predecessor stopped, or i t may merely spur him to do the job better. Often using Chemical Abstracts suffices, but for borderline subjects or when thoroughness out weighs cost, i t should be checked (especially i n the early years) against other sources. Abstract periodicals are not good hunting grounds for academic dissertations, government technical reports, or industrial bulletins. The objective of the search itself may set sharp boundaries for subject, or source, or time, or a l l three. I n patent searching i t makes a great difference whether the interest is in anticipation, or novelty, or interference, or infringement. The fuzziest of a l l objec tives, a comprehensive bibliography, may be sharply clarified b y limits on funds or man~ power. Working within the defined boundaries is as important as drawing them, but they are guidelines, not stockades. They allow short side sorties for tracking down clues, and the better the searcher knows his subject, the better he can emulate Sherlock Holmes. The Princes of Serendip had a technique which is not recommended for systematic searching, but i t had its points; they made their greatest discoveries while looking for something else. Good searchers allow themselves a little serendipic browsing now and then, but they keep i t within reason.
Use of Prior Bibliographies Prior bibliographies help, even when they are so poorly done that i t is cheaper to build a new one than to rebuild the old one. Too often the compiler does not say what sources he used, nor how thoroughly he combed them. Take heed when horrible examples cross your p a t h ; preface your own bibliographies by telling what sources y o u consulted, and how, and why. T h e n your successors can judge whether your toil was for demands of the moment, or for posterity. Circumstances may justify doing a hasty job for immediate needs, but they do not justify leaving later readers i n the dark about i t . The searcher, having found prior bibliographies, should make the best estimate of their dependability for the task. H e should never lean on broken reeds or pass b y strong props which might have saved him weariness of flesh and spirit. M a n y otherwise excellent literature reviews are heavily overweighted with home land references. Probably this stems much more from convenient propinquity than from willful neglect of foreign literature. Americans sometimes think German and Russian re views are the worst offenders, but actually this yielding to the easy way is more or less world-wide. Old bibliographies which exactly fit the subject are rare. Usually the old and new subjects overlap i n part, each having an area of interest not shared b y the other. B u t searchers can often save much work by skillful gleaning i n pertinent portions of earlier bibliographies.
Selection of Index Headings for Examination The right word-keys can make a search shine; the wrong ones can easily wreck i t . The right words may or may not be found i n standard subject-heading lists, almost cer tainly not in any list compiled without benefit of technical knowledge. Skilled searchers make up their own lists, changing from index to index and giving no unearned credence to standard lists. The perfect list for Chemical Abstracts w i l l be imperfect for British Abstracts and may need complete revamping for Biological Abstracts. None of the three would do for searching a library card catalog. When searching foreign-language indexes, the searcher must exercise care i n his choice of word-keys. F o r some years the N a z i regime banned L a t i n and Greek words; by decree, " E m u l s i o n " became " M i l c h " and "emulgieren" became "vermilchen." The German word for enzyme is " F e r m e n t , " and any fungus from molds to mushrooms is a " P i l z . " The searcher should not have any mushrooms fermenting sugars and rotting telegraph poles, as a well-meaning German did. In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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ADVANCES IN
CHEMISTRY SERIES
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Fortunately, the nomenclature of identifiable chemical compounds is fairly well i n ternationalized. Chemical nomenclature presents enough problems i n English; searchers should be duly grateful for any language-to-language sameness. The path to international agreement has often been hard; searchers should watch progress, and utilize it, on the long road that still lies ahead. There is nothing static about the word-key game. The searcher makes up a list which seems to cover his field, and plunges into an index. One word leads to another, such as "distillation" suggesting "fractionation," and he adds a word. A word that looked useful may prove barren, so he shelves it for possible use i n another index. Skillful first choices minimize backtracking, but i n complicated searches even the seasoned pro fessionals have to retrace some steps through an index now and then.
Selection of References, Termination of Search Once the search is started, staying on the beam calls for judgment and will power. Tempting side paths lead into greener-looking pastures, and sometimes they are worth following. So judgment is needed to pick the true path, and will power is needed to shun the specious. Suppose a search is being made on dimerization of acetylene, and the searcher finds under l-buten-3-yne a synthesis from ethene. W i l l it pay to track down the mechanism? The ethene might have been cracked to acetylene, then dimerized, or it might have been dimerized, then dehydrogenated. Again, will the heading "acetylene reactions" conceal any dimerization references? Probably yes i n a sketchy subject index, whereas thorough ones will have all references listed under dimerization. The searcher should not let an index lead him up the garden path; he should check and choose his paths with care. Staying on the beam is not solely a question of deviations to right or left. How far does the searcher go? Some searchers stop too soon; others go far past the point where results cease to justify effort. Inquirers and searchers alike should learn to set a reasonable goal, accepting a feasible standard of completeness. Then searchers should persist to an acceptable result as gaged by the standards adopted. There is no profit in going further.
Presentation of Results Presentation of search results, to be most effective, requires as much skill and care as correct defining of the subject area. Reading lists need only bibliographically adequate citations; bibliographies for publication need only brief annotations; but a search for a research unit may demand expert slanting to specific interests. Comments on individual references may vary, i n one Search, from skeleton bareness through brief (but instructive) comments to detailed abstracts or digests. Choice of arrangement also depends on what the reader needs, which i n turn de pends on whether he is John Q. Public or a little band of dedicated men who know what they want and why. There are alphabetical, chronological, source-wise, subject-classi fied, and hybrid arrangements i n endless variety; the best one is the one from which readers get the most help with the least effort. There are standards of presentation, such as accepted abbreviations for periodical titles, or sequences for citation data (volume, page, and date) which sacrifice one freedom in return for another. Rugged individualists who object to any shackles of standardiza tion are right on one point; misguided or excessive standardizing can do serious harm. National and international committees find it so hard to agree on bibliographical matters that overstandardization does not seem imminent. Searchers can only hope the com mittees are protecting them from misguided standards. A l l the commandments, the prophets, and the evangelism of the new bibliographic day can be summed up i n three shining words which run through an old engineering song: judgment, skill, and care. When all searchers plan and execute all their jobs with these three i n ample supply and i n perfect balance, the bibliographic millennium will be here. R E C E I V E D October 14, 1952. the
Presented before the Division of Chemical Literature at the 122nd, Meeting of
A M E R I C A N C H E M I C A L S O C I E T Y , Atlantic City, N . J .
In LITERATURE RESOURCES; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
