Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.24, No.6, 597-601, 2001
Searching information in large databases: Gamble or strategy?
Every piece of information is available on the internet - at least that is what today's TV commercials want to make us believe, though everyday use of the internet shows that working with databases is far more complicated than this. Different surfaces, complex query languages and the feeling that you either don't get enough or far too many relevant replies to your question often keep you from being satisfied. Can a need for information be foreseen to a certain degree? In the following we will have a subjective look at widespread query mechanisms and introduce an alternative concept using Analytical Chemistry as an example. The central idea behind this is to make a search more intuitive for the user by offering multiple keyword trees instead of a single keyword directory.