Research Tool Expands the Definition of Search Query
A
Boston-based nonprofit, the Institute for the
Study of Coherence and Emergence (ISCE), has introduced a
research tool called Epi-Search,
that can allow researchers to write queries of scholarly materials
as long as 10,000 words. So, instead of using single keywords,
students, for
instance, can input entire articles, papers and book chapters to find
more
documents related to the subject.
The
tool's algorithms are intended to take
advantage of a document's context in order to find other materials that
might
be helpful. It can find documents that are like the document in the
search and
also display key concepts and terms from the query and present them in
the form
of word clouds.
According
to ISCE representatives, Epi-Search can
search the institute's own library of 5,000 books that have been read,
skimmed
or quoted over the last 10 years by staff members. However, it can also
search
other databases like Google Scholar, PhilPaper, MIT CogNet and CiteSeer.
There
are several different ways college students
can take advantage of Epi-Search if, for instance, they are writing a
paper.
They can simply take their free-form notes and submit them. The site
would then
recommend further reading materials and associated concepts or keywords.
They
can submit a preliminary draft of a paper to
find reference sources they could then cite. They can also submit the
same
draft to find other papers that are similar to theirs and could give
them more
ideas to enhance their own work.
According
to a statement from ISCE, "Our goal is
to give the user an Internet version of serendipitously browsing in a
library
stack."
The
ISCE was founded in 1999 "to facilitate the conversation
between academics and practitioners regarding the implications of
complexity
thinking for the management of organizations." Along with providing
Epi-Search,
it presents a number of annual events and publishes scholarly journals.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.