Mar 20A prototype debugger for search strategiesIn this video we explore how we might take ideas from the world of software engineering and apply them to the challenge of search strategy formulation. We demonstrate a prototype ‘debugger’ which provides insight into the behaviour of search strategies, helping users to inspect, understand and validate them. …Boolean Search2 min readBoolean Search2 min read
Feb 1A new way to search for patents — 2DsearchI am delighted to announce a new release of 2Dsearch, with various improvements including an integration with two of the world’s biggest patent databases: Google Patents and Lens Patents. What this means is that you can now run a single visual search across 14 different sources and benefit from automated translations for many more. And with the addition of Google Patents and Lens Patents, you can now use 2Dsearch for patent searching and competitive intelligence, with free starter examples for each.Patent Search1 min readPatent Search1 min read
Feb 15, 20222Dsearch: new release (Feb 2022)Delighted to announce a new release of 2Dsearch, with various improvements including new preferences with options for snap-to-grid, advanced query parsing and default databases. We’ve also integrated the latest version of PolyGlot and fixed the query parser bug which so many of you raised. What this means is that you can now use 2Dsearch to execute a single visual search across a dozen different databases and benefit from automated translations for many more. We’ve also made further improvements to the user experience and now provide example searches for each of the databases.Boolean Search1 min readBoolean Search1 min read
Jan 18, 2022Searching grey literature: a single strategy to search multiple sourcesIn this short video we take a brief look at searching grey literature. Grey literature is the term given to unpublished documents such as dissertations, technical reports, conference abstracts, newsletters, presentations and so on. …Advanced Search3 min readAdvanced Search3 min read
Sep 1, 2021Translating search strategies: a universal language for information needsIn this short video we learn how to automatically translate search strategies to the syntax of different databases. Let’s start with a simple search strategy that finds documents on the use of exercise to prevent obesity in older people: As you can see, this search strategy is currently retrieving…Boolean Search2 min readBoolean Search2 min read
Aug 16, 2021Interactive query expansion for professional search applicationsI’m delighted to report that our paper ‘ Interactive query expansion for professional search applications’ has just been published in the journal Business Information Review. It’s been a long time in the making, primarily as the work was completed over a prolonged period of time involving many iterations, not all…Boolean Search2 min readBoolean Search2 min read
Apr 27, 20212Dsearch: new release (spring 2021)Spring is traditionally a time of new beginnings, so I am delighted this week to announce a new release of 2Dsearch. This contains a variety of bug fixes and improvements, including support for two new databases: ACM Guide to Computing Literature and IDEAS (the largest bibliographic database dedicated to Economics…Boolean Search1 min readBoolean Search1 min read
Jan 15, 20212Dsearch: new year, new releaseNew year, new release — I am delighted this week to announce a new release of 2Dsearch. This contains a variety of bug fixes and improvements, including support for IEEE XPlore, a ‘Help me choose’ feature and automated search report generation. You can now use 2Dsearch to search visually across 10 different databases and use automated translations for many more. We’ve also made improvements to the canvas user experience and now provide starter examples for each of the 10 databases.Boolean1 min readBoolean1 min read
Nov 24, 2020An open-access platform to design, validate and share search strategiesHonored and privileged to give a talk at EAHIL 2020 (European Association for Health Information and Libraries) last week on the topic of An open-access platform to design, validate and share search strategies. This is joint work with Farhad Shokraneh of King’s College. Delighted to say our talk generated a number of interesting discussions and follow ups. Our slides are attached below: comments and feedback welcome.Boolean1 min readBoolean1 min read
Oct 23, 20202Dsearch: latest release including ERICIt’s been a little while in the making, but I am delighted this week to announce a new release of 2Dsearch. This contains a variety of bug fixes and improvements, notably support for ERIC (Education Resources Information Center). You can now use 2Dsearch to search visually across 9 different databases and use automated translations for many more. We’ve made various improvements to the canvas user experience, including support for proximity operators and creating nested groups. We also improved the query parsing and now provide in-app links to syntax guides and other support materials.Search1 min readSearch1 min read