Find-an-Expert Facility

Help file

Index

1. What are domains and sub categories
2. How to use key words and key phrases
3. Wildcards
4. Boolean and/or operators
5. How to use the results

Help topics

The domains of the Find-an-Expert data base are based on the subject categories of the INIS bibliographic data base. Wherever there is no sub category offered, the domain corresponds one-to-one to a bibliographic category. Where sub categories are given, each sub category corresponds to a bibliographic category and selecting '--any--' sub category will search all sub categories under a given domain.

There are two exceptions:

1. "FISSION REACTORS/nuclear reactors and plants" covers the two bibliographic categories (a) "Specific Nuclear Reactors and Associated Plants" and (b) "General Studies of Nuclear Reactors"
2. "ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE/power transmission, distribution, storage" covers the two bibliographic categories (a) "Power Transmission and Distribution" and (b) "Energy Storage"

A detailed description of INIS subject categories is available in the ETDE/INIS Joint Reference Series No. 2: "Subject Categories and Scope Descriptions" (PDF, 521 kB)

Each of the 5 input field takes one key word or one phrase. Several words in a input field will be interpreted as a phrase. Don't use high commas or any other delimiters around phrases.

The full-text search is conducted in the titles and descriptor fields of the bibliographic records.

The descriptor fields are populated with key words taken from the ETDE/INIS Thesaurus. The hierarchical arrangement of the terms in the Thesaurus is used to provide more general key words in addition to the specific indexer assigned key words which correspond most precisely to concepts covered in a given publication.

Example: Publications which deal with radiation effects on cats, dogs and frogs will be indexed with 'cat', 'dog' and 'frog' respectively, but searching with the key word 'animals' will find all of them.

If the spelling of a word is ambiguous, you can use the * sign at the end of words to replace an arbitrary sub string - including the empty string.

Examples:

alumin* will search for both aluminium and aluminum

react* will search for any word starting with react including reaction and reactor, reactors, ...

If you have entered a phrase consisting of several words, the * can only be used at the end of the phrase:

react* fuel* is not a valid phrase

reactor fuel* will search for both reactor fuel and for reactor fuels

Each of the key word fields on the search form takes one key word or phrase. If several words are entered into one field, then they are interpreted as a phrase.

The Boolean operators and and or let you determine how these keywords and phrases are to be used in your search.

For example: After entering nuclear fuel into the first key word field and waste into the second, the Boolean operator can be used to search for publications which are either about nuclear fuel or waste (including both) or which are about nuclear fuel and waste.

The result of your search is a list of authors who have published in the specified field within the last few years. They are ranked according to the number of publications found in the database and by the date of their publications.

The list of publication titles which follows each name should be used to confirm that the author's field of expertise really coincides with your requirements. Finally, the author's affiliation - where given - should in principle enable you to contact the expert.