Advanced Searching with Abstracts

So, what's the difference between searching PowerTables and searching Abstracts? According to the Lexis-Nexis Statistical Universe userguide (http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/1univ/stat/), searching Abstracts allows you to search the full-text of the 30,000 tables in the database, as well as many more abstracts (not full-text) that will point you to other statistical sources that are at the Syracuse University Library in a different format (in print, microfiche, or possibly another electronic source). Adding non-full text results means that each search should retrieve more results, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on how well your search is constructed. For the average user, the BIG difference is that you have more searching options that are fairly easy to use. It is quite possible that, after learning how to search in Abstracts, you will never return to searching PowerTables!

If you have not gone to Abstracts yet, go ahead and click on "Search Abstracts" or "Abstracts" depending on which page you are on. You should now be looking at this page:

As you may have noticed, there are two major differences in this Abstracts option from our experience using the PowerTables option. First, you have the ability to enter your keyword search differently, as well as you can now limit your search within a particular statistical source (ASI, SRI and/or IIS). The final difference is that between the "Breakdowns" and the "Date" tables, you can "Limit to abstracts that have full text attachments." Checking this box would remove all abstract-only results, which means that your search will not retrieve any other Syracuse University resources (books, microfiche, etc...). The best use of this option comes if you are a distance student and need to get everything online, or you simply do not want to go through the effort of tracking down any non-web resources.

Since we have already practiced with some of the features on this page (breakdowns, date and basic keyword searching), let's focus on what using the two new options: advanced keyword searching and limiting by source.

Advanced Keyword Searching

As you can see, if you access the dropdown menu under "and," you will get a list of "Search Connectors" that you can use to create a search. According to the "Tips" area, the "Search Connectors" do the following:

• AND: Using the logical operator AND between terms narrows a search by requiring that all terms be present in each record retrieved. Adding AND to a search generally reduces the number of records retrieved.
• OR: Using the logical operator OR between terms broadens a search by adding terms to the search query. Use OR to add synonyms or similar terms to a search. Adding OR to a search generally increases the number of records retrieved.
• AND NOT: The logical operator AND NOT narrows a search by eliminating records in which the term after AND NOT appears. Adding AND NOT to a search generally reduces the number of records retrieved.
• W/SENTENCE: Using the logical operator W/SENTENCE looks for documents with search words in the same sentence.
• W/PARAGRAPH: Using the logical operator W/PARAGRAPH looks for documents with search words in the same paragraph.

(HELPFUL HINT: This list is taken directly from the "Tips" section. If you have a question about how a feature is supposed to work, check the "Tips," "Help" or the "How Do I?" areas of Statistical Universe. Almost every database provides such on-screen assistance to searching. If your searching is not producing results, or you need further guidance, it is always a good idea to ask a librarian for assistance.)

You may be able to see how using these drop-down menu "Search Connectors" takes away some of the pressure of having to remember these options. Of course, you can use these connectors in searching PowerTables, but you would have to remember how to type them! Go ahead and do the following search: beer AND production AND NOT wine (do not use any other limitations). You should be seeing results 1 - 25 of 319 results retrieved. This is a lot of results (not to mention, a lot of beer!). We will use the next keyword searching feature to limit our results.

Being able to search within specific fields is a great way to focus your search. In PowerTables, every keyword that we entered was looked for in "All Fields." In searching Abstracts, we can now designate which field we want to search for our keyword. To show you how this can help, go ahead and only change the "beer" search to a "Title" search (see graphic above), and then click on "Search." You should have gone from 319 results to 33 results. That is a big difference! You may also notice that none of the items retrieved are full-text. To obtain the actual statistics for these results, you will have to locate these individual publications in the Syracuse University Library. To do this, you would have to go to SUMMIT and search for the publication title. Statistical Universe does provide you with the necessary information to search for the publications.

Limiting to Publisher

This option is not for the faint of heart! It can be a bit tricky trying to figure out which publication(s) contain the statistics that you are looking for. If you remember, at the beginning of this tutorial, you were provided with a brief summary of what each publication covers. To refresh your memory, here it is again:

• Federal Sources: American Statistics Index (ASI)
  ASI indexes and abstracts statistical data published by all branches and agencies of the Federal Government, including both depository and non-depository publications. ASI includes federal agency publications that contain social, economic, demographic, or natural resources data, and a selection of publications with scientific and technical data.
• State and Private Sector Sources: Statistical Reference Index (SRI)
  SRI identifies statistical data published by consumer and trade magazines, private organizations, state government agencies, business organizations, independent research organizations, and universities and affiliated research centers. Publications covered by SRI contain important statistics on business, industry and finance, general economic conditions, government programs and politics, and social trends. SRI offers access to national data, such as production, costs, and earnings in major industries; statewide data, such as statistics on crime, health, or employment; data on foreign countries, such as world economic and demographic trends; and local or narrowly focused data, such as detail by county and municipality.
• International Intergovernmental Organizations: Index to International Statistics (IIS)
  IIS covers statistical publications of international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). These publications are an essential source of basic information on the population, business and financial activities, foreign trade, education, health, and other economic, demographic, and political characteristics of nations and world regions. IIS provides a master guide and index to approximately 100 organizations, including the United Nations system, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union, commodity organizations, development banks, and other important inter-governmental organizations.
  (Source: Lexis-Nexis Statistical Universe User Guide (PDF) http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/1univ/stat/)

If you want to read through the details of each publication, click on "Help," then "About Statistical Universe," and then you can get into the details under the "Sources Covered by Statistical Universe" option.

You may want to use this limiting feature if you know that you are only interested in retrieving federal statistics (only search ASI) as opposed to state, industry or international statistics. To give you an idea of what each option will do, enter the same search three times, limiting to a different publication each time. If you do the following search: GDP AND Mexico (both limited to the Subject field), ASI returns 90 results, SRI returns 66 results and IIS returns 880 results. Leaving the search at "Any Source" returns the following error message: "This search has been interrupted because it will return more than 1,000 documents." Of course, this search would be helped if you used a "Date" limitation, but you can see how searching within publications can limit your search. The problem comes when trying to figure out which publication to include or exclude. If you do not feel comfortable with your knowledge of each publication, you will be better off refining your search using better keywords, breakdowns, and/or date limitations.

Conclusion

Statistical Universe is a powerful tool to use when you are looking for statistics. The more you use the database, the better you will get at finding what you are looking for. This tutorial has been designed to teach you what options you can use when you search Statistical Abstracts. As you continue to use Statistical Abstracts, remember to use the "Tips," the "Help" and the "How Do I?" options if you are unclear how you search for a particular item. Doing research is a process, and chances are you will not find what you are looking for on your first try. Continue to refine your search and you will be amazed at your results! Also, remember that you can always ask a librarian for assistance. Even the most expert searchers can have a difficult time finding what they are looking for. Instead of becoming frustrated, consult with a librarian. They may know of a strategy or resource that you have not considered. Happy searching!

Congratulations! You have now finished the Statistical Universe Tutorial!

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(David M. Oldenkamp, Syracuse University Library. Modified 3 March 2002)