Focus on Numerical Data Indexing
Searching the Inspec database using
words is straightforward and highly
effective. The inclusion of titles and
abstracts in a record, supplemented
by controlled terms (thesaurus terms),
uncontrolled terms and classifications
applied by Inspec subject specialists,
ensures that such a search results in a
high retrieval rate of relevant records to
an answer set. However there are cases
where a search using words alone will
not yield the desired results.
The following case illustrates the
problem:
I am interested in finding records for
documents that describe the effect of
radiation on biological organisms, such
as humans. However I am only interested
in finding records where the dosages
described are high and are an important
feature of the document.
It is easy to find records for documents
dealing with radiation effects. Keywords,
controlled terms, uncontrolled terms
and classification codes can all be used
to obtain a good-sized answer set. A
sample can be seen below. Using some
of these terms in a search of Inspec on
STN, and limiting the answer set to the
last 10 years yields a haul of almost
30,000. Clearly an answer set that needs
reducing in size.
So, how do I go about reducing the
answer set to one of a more manageable
size, and yet remains highly relevant to the
The information contained in numerical
data has importance for many of the
subject areas that fall within the scope
of Inspec. Very often it is used by the
author to describe, for example, a
particular temperature or frequency
range that is of importance to the subject
of the document. In many cases it is the
numerical data that determine which
subdivision of technology a document
may be describing. For example, a
document may describe a CPU processor
that operates at 1 GHz, while another
may describe a CPU processor that
operates at 20 GHz. Numerical data,
if this can be searched, can be a very
useful means of narrowing a search into
a very focused answer set containing
just the most relevant records to your
search. I could use it to look for records
that describe high radiation doses in my
original answer set.
The SI unit of a radiation absorbed dose
is the gray, which corresponds to 1
joule of energy per 1 kg of living tissues.
Alternative units, which measure the
same thing, are the roentgen and the
radHowever, different types of radiation
have different effects on tissue. For
example a 1 gray dose of alpha radiation
to a human would not have the same
effect as a 1 gray dose of gamma radiation.
Biological effects of radiation
A2880C Dosimetry in nuclear engineering
Dosimetry
A8750 Biological effects of radiation
Fission reactor safety
A8760M Radiation dosimetry in medical physics
Fusion reactor safety
A8760R Radioactive pollution and natural radioactivity: health aspects
Gamma-ray effects
B7530B Radiation protection and dosimetry
Radiation effects
Radiation pollution
criteria of my search. I might consider
using numerical data.
Radiation protection
Radioisotopes
Some Inspec classification codes that may be used in a
search for radiation related documents in Inspec.
Some Inspec controlled terms that may be used in a
search for radiation related documents in Inspec.
Quantity
Unit
Age
Altitude
Apparent power
Bandwidth
Bit rate
Byte rate
Capacitance
Computer execution rate
Computer speed
Conductance
Current
Depth
Distance
Efficiency
Electrical conductivity
Electrical resistivity
Electron volt energy
Energy
Frequency
Gain
Galactic distance
Geocentric distance
Heliocentric distance
Loss
Magnetic flux density
Mass
Memory size
Noise figure
Picture size
Power
Pressure
Printer speed
Radiation absorbed dose
Radiation dose equivalent
Radiation exposure
Radioactivity
Reactive power
Resistance
Size
Stellar mass
Storage capacity
Temperature
Time
Velocity
Voltage
Wavelength
Word length
yr
m
VA
Hz
bit/s
Byte/s
F
IPS
FLOPS
S
A
m
m
percent
S/m
ohm
eV
J
Hz
dB
pc
m
AU
dB
T
kg
Byte
dB
pixel
W
Pa
cps
Gy
Sv
C/kg
Bq
VAr
ohm
m
Msol
bit
K
s
m/s
V
m
bit
Numerical quantities and their
standard units used in Inspec
Inspecmatters
=> set range 1996SET COMMAND COMPLETED
=> s ((Radiation effects) or (Biological effects
protection) or dosimetry or (gamma-ray effects) or
3756 RADIATION EFFECTS/CT
715 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIATION/CT
3519 RADIATION PROTECTION/CT
13478 DOSIMETRY/CT
3256 GAMMA-RAY EFFECTS/CT
5263 RADIOISOTOPES/CT
L1
26148 ((RADIATION EFFECTS) OR (BIOLOGICAL
(RADIATION PROTECTION) OR DOSIMETRY
RADIOISOTOPES)/CT
of radiation) or (Radiation
radioisotopes)/ct
Values are expressed in scientific notation,
e.g. 1.8E+04 for 18000 and 9.5E-01 for
0.95.
EFFECTS OF RADIATION) OR
OR (GAMMA-RAY EFFECTS) OR
4Quantity represents the physical
quantity, e.g. temperature, wavelength
=> s l1 or l2
L3
29924 L1 OR L2
STN search transcript
Numerical data may be present in
Inspec as part of the original author title
and abstract. These can be searched
but inconsistencies in the way it is
represented can make it difficult to do
so. Some of the problems that may be
encountered are as follows.
4Different units can also be used.
The rem has been largely superceded
by the SI unit of the sievert (Sv). 1 Sv =
100 rem. It is possible that data in Inspec
records can be represented in either
form, so any search for numerical data
in the Title and Abstract would have to
be for both representations.
Each Numerical Data Indexing term has
the following format:
Quantity Value (to Value) Unit where:
=> s (A2880C or A8750 or A8760M or B7530B)/cc
2851 A2880C/CC
2995 A8750/CC
12545 A8760M/CC
8405 B7530B/CC
L2
17391 (A2880C OR A8750 OR A8760M OR B7530B)/CC
To t a ke t h e s e d i f fe re n c e s i n to
consideration another unit was devised
which would measure the additive effect
of different types of radiation. This was
called the rem (radiation equivalent
man), the SI equivalent of which is the
sievert (Sv). 100 rem is equivalent to 1
Sv. A dose of 1.0 Sv results in nausea
and fatigue, a dose of 3.0 Sv can result in
death. Since it is large doses of radiation
that I am interested in, it is records that
contain information on dosages greater
than 100 rem or 1.0 Sv that I want to
retain. If I can restrict my answer set to
records that describe radiation dosages
greater than or equal to 1.0 Sv, I should
have an answer set focused on the type
of information I am after.
document as being 30 Hz to 18 kHz,
this would be converted to 3.0E+01 to
1.8E+04 Hz.
4Even if data in Inspec are most
commonly represented in Sv, the value
might be quoted differently. For example,
the radiation dose received may be
described as being 0.1 Sv in one record,
while in another it may be described as
100 mSv. These are the same values.
4A specific value may not be stated
individually in a record but may be included
as part of a range. The record would still
be relevant, but would not be retrievable
by searching that specific value.
The problems outlined make the task
of searching numerical data difficult.
However it is made significantly more
straightforward by the inclusion of
numerical data indexing in Inspec. This
is a system of indexing that Inspec has
been applying to numerical data since
1987. The aim is to present important
numerical data using standard notation
and units, no matter what format is used
in the original document. This makes it
much easier to search.
For example:
4If the output of a radiation dose
was described in a document as being
25 rem, it would be converted to 2.5E01 Sv for the purposes of numerical
indexing.
4If the frequency range of an
electronic device was described in a
4 Unit is of the SI type, e.g. metre (m), hertz (Hz), kelvin (K)
4 Value is the actual value or range expressed in floating point format.
There is a predefined list of units of
measurement (See table) that is used
for numerical data indexing. If numerical
data measured using these units or their
equivalents are present in a document
and it is highly relevant to the theme of
the document, then that data will be
indexed.
Numerical data indexing can be used
to find records either where the search
term is specifically mentioned or where
it is part of a range of values. It can
also be used to find any records that
contain information in a particular unit
of measurement.
I can use numerical data indexing to
reduce my original answer set of 29,924
records to a more manageable size.
Radiation dose equivalents are indexed
in Sv, so I can search in the numerical
data indexing (RADE) field of each of
the records in the answer set and retain
only those records where radiation dose
equivalents are greater than 1.0 Sv.
A highly focused answer set of 36 records
has been created. Reviewing the title and
numerical data indexing fields of these
records suggests that all of the records
retained are relevant to my search.
Search results are shown overleaf....
Inspec Search Aids
=> s l1 or l2
L3
29924 L1 OR L2
=> s rade>1
L4
47 RADE>1 SV
=> s l3 and l5
L5
36 L3 AND L4
=> d ti 1-10
L5
TI
ANSWER 1 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
Polycardiography-based remote myocardial contractibility in liquidators of
aftereffects of Chernobyl nuclear power station catastrophe.
PHP time 4.7E+08 to 5.0E+08 s; age 3.1E+01 to 6.0E+01 yr; radiation dose
equivalent 1.6E-02 to 2.9E+02 Sv
L5
TI
ANSWER 2 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
Effect of recent changes in atomic bomb survivor dosimetry on cancer
mortality risk estimates.
PHP radiation dose equivalent 0.0E+00 to 2.0E+00 Sv
L5
TI
ANSWER 3 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
High radon concentrations in a house near Castleisland, County Kerry
(Ireland)-identification, remediation and post-remediation.
PHP radiation dose equivalent 1.2E+00 Sv; time 7.9E+06 s
L5
TI
ANSWER 4 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
Branch medical-dosimetric register of nuclear workers of Russia. State and
perspectives.
PHP age 2.0E+01 to 3.9E+01 yr; radiation dose equivalent 2.0E+00 Sv
L5 ANSWER 5 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
PHP time 1.6E+09 s; radiation absorbed dose 1.0E+00 to 9.8E+00 Gy;
TI
Medical consequences of technogenic radiation exposure. age 1.8E+01
to 4.0E+01 yr; radiation dose equivalent 1.6E+00 to 3.26E+00 Sv; time
3.2E+08 s
L6
TI
ANSWER 6 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
In vivo determination of extra-target doses received from serial
tomotherapy.
PHP radiation dose equivalent 3.27E-01 Sv; radiation dose equivalent
1.353E+00 Sv; radiation absorbed dose 6.01E+01 Gy; distance 4.0E-01 m;
voltage 1.0E+07 V; distance 1.5E-01 m
L11
TI
PHP
L11
TI
PHP
L11
TI
PHP
L11
TI
PHP
ANSWER 7 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
Reconstruction of the ingestion doses received by the population evacuated
from the settlements in the 30-km zone around the Chernobyl reactor.
radiation dose equivalent 2.0E-02 to 1.3E+00 Sv; radiation dose
equivalent 3.0E-03 to 1.8E-01 Sv; time 2.6E+05 to 9.5E+05 s
ANSWER 8 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
Reconstruction of the inhalation dose in the 30-km zone after the
Chernobyl accident.
age 1.0E+00 yr; radiation dose equivalent 3.0E-03 to 6.0E+00 Sv; size
3.0E+04 m
ANSWER 9 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
No evidence for chromosomal instability in radiation workers with in vivo
exposure to plutonium.
radiation dose equivalent 2.5E-01 Sv; radiation dose equivalent 1.8E+00
Sv; time 6.3E+08 s
ANSWER 10 OF 36 INSPEC (C) 2005 IEE on STN
Stable chromosome aberrations in atomic bomb survivors: results from 25
years of investigation.
radiation dose equivalent 5.0E-01 to 2.0E+00 Sv
Review of first ten records of answer set
Hurray, it works. What more can I say?
More information relating to numerical data indexing can be found on our website
www.iee.org/Publish/Support/Inspec/Document/index.cfm
The search described in this article was carried out on STN. The implementation of numerical
data indexing varies from vendor to vendor, and the features described are not necessarily
available on all vendor platforms.
The Inspec Search Aids are an invaluable
tool for getting the best search results.
The Search Aids comprise: the Inspec
Thesaurus, giving the controlled indexing
terms used in Inspec records; the
Classification, which indicates the
appropriate codes to use; and the List
of Journals which is a reference to all
the serial publications scanned for the
Inspec database.
The Search Aids are available in either
print or electronically. In print, the books
can be bought individually or as a
package whereas the electronic version
contains all three publications. This can
be bought on CD and also as an XML file
for local loading.
The electronic Search Aids are updated
when new terms are added, usually
every one to two years, so in order to
gain maximum benefit, users are advised
to use the most recent version of the
Search Aids. To make this easier, we are
offering a 50% discount on Standing
Orders for the CD or XML version of
the Search Aids so instead of having to
watch out for the latest version, the IEE
will automatically offer them to you at an
advantageous price.
For further information, please contact
[email protected]
Inspec Training
As a part of its customer support, Inspec
has a team of trainers based in each
of the three regional offices – Europe,
Middle East and Africa, The Americas,
and Asia Pacific. They are able to run
training workshops designed to help
users gain a thorough understanding of
the Inspec database and how to make
the best use of it.
Workshops can also be tailored to any
of the vendor platforms to give you or
your users the help they need to gain
maximum benefit from Inspec. Knowing
that our users are busy people, we are
happy to bring the workshop to your own
premises to reduce travel time.
If you are interested or would like further
information, please contact the Inspec
helpdesk in your area (addresses for each
region are listed on the back cover).