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EarthRef Digital Archive Help Library
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3.1  Search Types

3.1.1  Searching by Keyword

Searching the EarthRef Digital Archive by keyword allows you to find contributions related to the Keyword you specify.

Each contribution to the EarthRef Digital Archive contains a list of keywords that the are associated with it. These are specified by the contributor at the time the contribution is inserted into the EarthRef database. In addition, the search will query other fields that may contain your term, including contribution titles, descriptions, etc. You may specify one or more keywords to use in your search by typing them in the Keyword field, using spaces or colons between words.

3.1.2  Searching by Location

Searching the EarthRef Digital Archive by location allows you to find contributions associated with a particular locality.

You may use some or all of the fields included in the Location Search form. Contributions that correspond to the location you specify will be included in the search results.

Latitude and Longitude are set by default to include the maximum possible range of values. To specify a more specific region, modify the values in the search form. The contributions that have latitude-longitude ranges that fall within your specified range will be included in the search results.

Search by Location Name if you would like to find contributions that relate to a particular continent, country, or region. Continent may include values such as such as Europe, Australia, or Asia. For more specific searches, you may indicate a particular Country, such as Japan, Marshall Islands, or USA. Region may indicate such things as a body of water or underwater formation, and may include values such as Atlantic, Japanese Seamount Trail, or Pigafetta Basin.

For the Location Name field, you may indicate multiple search values by separating your search terms with spaces or colons. This will narrow your search to include more specific values.

3.1.3  Searching by Timescale

The Time Scale Search allows you to specify a specific Age range in Ma and/or the name of a geological timescale for your search.

The Age [Ma] fields are pre-filled with the maximum possible values for contribution ages, from 0 Ma to 4550 Ma. This includes every possible date range. Modify the search values to search for a more specific age range.

The Time Scale field allows you to indicate one or more terms indicating a geological timescale name(s). Multiple search terms narrow your search, and should be separated by spaces or colons. Examples of Time Scale search values are Cenozoic, Serravallian, Tertiary, and Late Cretaceous.

3.1.4  Advanced Search

The EarthRef Digital Archive Advanced Search form allows you to combine various search terms and fields to generate the most specific results. It also allows you to modify your search by using the boolean keywords OR, AND or AND NOT between search terms. Separating your search terms with spaces or colons is the equivalent of using the OR keyword.

The search form gives two fields into which you may type your search terms, and each field is related to a pulldown list. The pulldown list allows you to indicate in which field you would like to use your search terms, including Keyword, Parameter, Material, Latitude Range, Longitude Range, Continent, Country, Region, Age Range (in Ma), and Time Scale. Each of the allowed ranges may be specified by using spaces between the terms, e.g., 0 4550 to specify the Age Range 0 to 4550 Ma.

You may use one, both, or neither search term fields, depending upon the type of search you wish to perform. If you use both fields, you must select a boolean modifier AND, OR, or AND NOT from the list that appears between the fields. This will affect how the search query is built, and will affect the number of results that appear in your search. AND means that the terms in both fields must appear in the search results, while OR indicates that one or the other (or both) may appear. AND NOT means that the first terms must be in the results, but the second terms must not be. If both search term fields are left blank, the Project Name and/or Expert Level fields must be used in your search.

The Data Type list allows you to search for ERDA contributions that have files of a certain type associated with them. Indicating a certain data type in your search will result in only those contributions containing the selected data type.

Expert Level indicates to which audience a particular contribution is directed. They range from Preschool and Elementary School to State-of-the-Art Science. You may choose to search for contributions only within a specified level by selecting "This Level Only", or to broaden your search results by selecting "This Level and Lower" or "This Level and Higher". By selecting one of the two latter options, your search will include contributions in the level specified in the Expert Level list, plus any level that appears above it or below it, as specified in the Lower or Higher modifier.

The Project Name list allows you to specify that you are searching for contributions that relate to a specific EarthRef Project. Contributions are grouped into projects to allow users to locate them more easily. You may specify a general project name, such as "Earth Science Software", or a more specific name, such as "EarthRef.org Data Population Tools".