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5.4. A `self updating index' - Storing DIAL Searches in the DIAL Index
As discussed above, the `Telecommunications: National Legislation' pages
contain some examples of embedded (or `stored') searches over sites made
searchable by DIAL Search. Such stored searches over DIAL Search have many
other uses in the DIAL Index.
The significance of these `stored searches' of DIAL Search in the DIAL Index
comes from three factors:
- Any type of detailed intellectual indexing (in the sense of creating
hypertext links to specific pages, organised by subject matter) is very time
consuming, and requires regular updating of links, and is therefore expensive.
This is so even where there is only an attempt to index at a broad level, and
it becomes far more expensive the more precise and numerous the indexing terms
become. For example, to index all legislation sites for multiple terms more
precise than `telecommunications' will be considerably more costly.
- Those responsible for developing and maintaining the DIAL Index have
expertise in search techniques, and know what types of searches are most
effective over DIAL Search. By creating stored searches at sensible locations
in the index they make this expertise available to users of the index, many of
whom are unlikely to have the same level of search expertise.
- An expert who creates a stored search only has to do so once. When more
data is added to the DIAL Search database, the expert does not have to change
the stored search, because it will now find relevant new legislation as well as
the old legislation (assuming the search was well-constructed in the first
place). In contrast, sets of ordinary hypertext links to legislation do have
to be updated when legislation changes. This method creates to some extent a
`self-updating index' of the material in DIAL Search.
On
the `DIAL Searches for telecommunications topics' page is an embedded search
for the term `telecommunications' over All Libraries in DIAL Search. It
displays the results ranked in terms of their likely relevance to the search
request (for example, items that use the term `telecommunications' frequently
will appear before those that only use the term in passing, with adjustments
made for the size of the document etc). As can be seen from the results display
of the first ten items found, a rich array of legal documents dealing with
telecommunications law is found, ranging from UK legislation (items 1 and 7),
the Vietnam legislation index where it deals with telecommunications (items 3
and 4), an Australian Law Reform Commission report (item 5), GATT documents
(items 6 and 9), Internet law indexes dealing with telecommunications (items 8
and 10), and an Asian Development Bank Law and Development project (item 2).
A DIAL Search is also included limited solely to a search for legislation, by
restricting it to the Legislation Library. The first few items listed include
legislation from the UK, Spain, Vietnam and New Zealand. Similarly, on the
Telecommunications: Indices' page, a DIAL Search for telecommunications is
limited to the `Law Indexes Library'.
First 10 of 494 items found for DIAL Search over ALL Libraries for
`telecom*' or telekom*
The `Intellectual Property: DIAL Searches for intellectual property topics'
page contains a variety of searches over All Libraries in DIAL Search which
illustrate aspects of the use of embedded searches. The searches for patent law
(`patent* or brevet* or octrooi*') and industrial designs law (`industrial
design or dise* industrial') illustrate the searches which will retrieve
materials in multiple European languages, as discussed in the previous
Chapter.
The search for `circuit layout or semiconductor chip or integrated circuit' is
an example of a search which is effective because it uses synonyms to an extent
which most users would not achieve (even though only in English in this
example).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/links/DIAL_Index/Development_Law_Subjects/Intellectual_Property/DIAL_Searches_for_intellectual_property_topics/
The
search for trade mark and related laws (`trade mark or trademark or unfair
competition or passing off' also shows the need to consider variations in the
use of an expression (trade mark or trademark) even between English-speaking
countries. The first 16 of 479 results of this search, shown below, illustrate
of the range of materials which can be retrieved: trademark legislation from
Japan (14), the United Kingdom (2), Taipei, China (3,6), and China (1, 5, 7,
9, 11); European Union provisions (8, 12, 13); Internet law indexes to
trademark materials (15, 16); and Canadian commentary (4).
The first 16 of 479 items retrieved by a search for trademark and
related laws
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