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Most search engines and databases search "words anywhere" or "keywords" automatically unless you select another type of search.
Keyword searching finds matches for your terms in any
field of a record or any part of a Web page, so you will typically
retrieve more information with less precision. This is known as "recall" searching because it focuses on recalling as much information as possible.
Databases and search engines may allow searching in
specific fields such as author, title, url (Web address), or subject
and will sometimes refer to this as "advanced," or "expert" searching.
These searches will typically retrieve less information with more precision. This is called "precision" searching because it focuses on finding only precisely what you need.
For example
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If you are a detective and the only clues you have for a
missing persons case are the words "red,"
"blue," and "green,"
these people could be a match. This is keyword searching.
RED + BLUE + GREEN
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If instead you knew your person had a red tie, blue shirt,
and a green beret, you have a better chance of finding
the right person. This is field searching.
Tie=RED, Shirt=BLUE, Beret=GREEN
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recall v. precision | keyword v. field
We recommend recall/keyword searching when you are doing
either a large original research project or are looking for a rare or
unique term (e.g. Eminem). Recall allows you to find anything remotely
related to a topic. Doctoral students and professional researchers
typically perform these searches early in their research in order to
identify everything already
published about their focus area. Recall/keyword searching can also be
an effective strategy for identifying subject terms from a few relevant
records to prepare for a subject field search later.
We recommend precision/field searching when you need to
find a relatively small number of sources on a specific topic.
Precision searching is most useful for smaller projects like course
term papers, problem-solving activities, and making consumer choices.
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