Search Tutorial : Keyword Searching

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Keyword Searching

This tutorial module explains how to code effective keyword searches and provides cut and paste HTML code for many common searches. Keyword searching allows you to create hypertext pages where individual words or phrases activate targeted remote searches automatically. Your pages can present text with live, interactive hypertext links to our extensive worldwide database of net-accessible resources. Viewers can easily move back and forth between your content and supporting links via the PAGE BACK button on their browsers. Examples of good candidates for keyword searching include patient education materials and distance learning applications.

The key to effective keyword searching is to understand the standard terms, or taxonomy, that Growth House uses to code resources. By using these standard terms you can precisely target specific resources for retrieval. The staff at Growth House carefully study each record in the database and associate standard keywords with many items. These special keywords may appear in the visible text for each record, or may be used as invisible keywords which are seen by the computer but not by users.

This tutorial page gives an overview of the coding techniques and introduces some commonly-used text searches. If you are developing an application that requires search strings not shown here, send us mail and tell us what you are trying to do. We will assist you with taxonomy questions.

Code Examples

You can use two types of code to perform text searches: links and buttons, as shown in these examples:

Here is a link to tube feeding resources.

Here is a button which executes the same search:

How It Works

When you check the output you will see that the keywords used for these examples were actually palliative and nutrition -- not the consumer-oriented term tube feeding. This lets you design a user interface which does not ask the user to become an expert in your specialized terminology. Instead of trying to make the user learn your terms, you can have the computer translate natural terms into standard keywords.

Because the Growth House search engine does a full-text search on every record, users can still directly enter the phrase tube feeding and find records which contain those words. But the power of the Growth House engine is that the content is indexed with specific reference to key ideas in terminal care. Since tube feeding is one aspect of nutritional care, the keyword nutrition is added by Growth House to records which pertain to tube feeding. Tube feeding is also a possible strategy in palliative care, so the keyword palliative is also added to the record. So the standard (or canonical) phrase which is used in these examples is palliative nutrition, with ALL terms required. This broadens the search to include collateral resources which the user may not have considered.

A Sample Page Using These Features

For a sample page using several different search methods on the same page, check our book review of The Good Death. That sample shows:

The "Similar books" button at the top of the page uses book category keywords
The names Timothy Quill and Joanne Lynn are links which execute searches
The left-hand sidebar includes single-category searches in link format
Our "quick pick" category search appears at the bottom of the page

Sample Sites Using These Features

Here are some creative examples of how remote search users are integrating these methods on their own sites. If you have an example you would like added to this list please send us mail and let us know. For a complete list of authorized remote search sites, click here.

The Institute Of Palliative Care at the University of Ottawa, Canada, is using text search buttons to add depth to their own content in online patient education materials such as this example on nutrition in palliative care. The button at the bottom of the page executes a search at Growth House.
Americans for Better Care Of The Dying is makes extensive use of targeted extensions to their own link pages on various topics such as pain management, and supplements their own book recommendations with Growth House book lists.

Some Handy Standard Searches

Here are some "canned" searches which have been designed by the Growth House staff to answer common user questions. Each example explains what is retrieved, the canonical taxonomy used, and suggested consumer-oriented interface text. To save space these examples are in link form, but all can be reformatted as button searches using the sample button code given above. If you are designing a keyword search and would like help on taxonomy, or would like to suggest a new standard search for this list, please send us mail. We welcome collaboration, and the results of your suggestions can help other webmasters.

Topic Keywords ALL|AND What it retrieves

advocacy groups advocacy ANY Advocacy groups working on end of life care or specific illnesses.

AIDS and HIV aids hiv ALL AIDS and HIV disease. Note: because the word "aids" does not refer to HIV in phrases such as "health aids", always use the term HIV.

AIDS in Asia hiv asian ALL Asian and Pacific Rim resources for AIDS and HIV disease. Note: because the word "aids" does not refer to HIV in phrases such as "health aids", always use the term HIV.

Alzheimer's Disease alzheimer ANY Alzheimer's Disease. Note that the keyword alzheimer retrieves Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's Disease, and Alzheimers (a common user punctuation error). This search is not case-sensitive. See also: dementia

Australian resources australia ANY Australian resources. See also: country and language searches

book lists e.g., booksdying or any other reserved booklist keyword ANY The following reserved keywords are available to create book lists for specific types of books: booksdying bookshospice booksgrief booksprofessional bookspain bookssuicide bookshiv booksfuneral booksspirituality bookschildren booksparents booksalzheimer medicaltextbooks bookseuthanasia booksvolunteers booksasia bookscancer bookstrauma
Here is a list format showing how to produce book lists on multiple subjects. Select a topic and press the "show recommended books" button:

About Dying
Hospice Care
Grief
Helping Children
Bereaved Parents
Spirituality
Sudden and Traumatic Loss

book review for a single book [enter target URL] ANY You can pull a single book review simply by targeting the URL at Growth House. The output will show where the book is classified in the Growth House category system. Most book reviews include a "see similar books" button which leads them to a booklist. See also: Site Review

British resources britain british uk u.k. ANY British resources. Note that inclusion of the uk keyword will also pull items located on british web servers with the .uk extension. If that is not desired, remove the uk parameter. This search will pull items located in British Columbia, Canada, as well. See also: country and language searches

Buddhist resources buddh ANY Buddhist resources. The keyword buddh retrieves Buddhist, Buddhism, Buddha. See also: spirituality

Canadian resources canada canadian ANY Canadian resources. See also: country and language searches

cancer cancer ANY Cancer, various specific sarcomas, oncology.

cancer, pediatric pediatric oncolog ALL Note that the keyword oncolog will pull oncology, oncologist, oncologists, oncological, etc.

caregiving caregiv ANY The search term caregiv retrieves caregiving, caregiver, caregivers. This is a very general search and may be less effective than searching for the specific type of caregiving which interests you.

chat rooms chat ANY Online chat rooms and real-time messaging services.

Christian resources christ ANY Christian resources. The keyword christ retrieves Christian, Christianity. See also: spirituality

[country or language] Enter country or language desired, e.g., sweden swedish ANY For best results use country and language variant keywords with an ANY search

cultural issues sociology ANY Sociology, anthropology, cross-cultural studies.

death and dying overviews deathoverview ANY The special keyword deathoverview is used to pull resources which give a comprehensive or cross-cultural overview of death and dying. This keyword is associated with some records based on the judgement of Growth House staff.

dementia dementia ANY All dementias, including Alzheimer's Disease and HIV dementia. See also: Alzheimer's Disease

durable power of attorney and living wills durable power attorney ALL Durable power of attorney, living wills, advance directives. Content of this type is systematically coded by Growth House using the keywords shown.

euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide euthanasia ANY The terminology for voluntary taking of one's own life as death approaches varies widely in different sources, and has political implications. Terms such as euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, PAS, and deliverance are all terms which some resources use to describe the same practice. We make no judgement about the correctness of one term over another, but use the keyword euthanasia within the database to facilitate searching across the political spectrum on this issue. Use of a single, unique word such as euthanasia produces more precise output than use of longer phrases. You can call it whatever you want in your user interface.

funding and grants funding grants philanthropy ANY Sources for funding and grants.

hospice work "Top 10" internet resources workertop10 ANY A carefully-chosen list of Growth House picks for the top ten most useful resources for day-to-day support of hospice workers and volunteers. Emphasis is on sites hospice staff can use to get ideas and answers for common questions.

Jewish resources jewish ANY Jewish resources. See also: spirituality

memorial sites memorial ANY Memorial sites. Note: Growth House does not generally list memorial sites unless they are noteworthy in some other regard, or are centers of memorial rings.

news and events news events ANY News sources, newsletters, calendars of events.

remote search sites remotesearch ANY Lists all websites which are authorized users of the Growth House remote search engine.

site review for a single resource [enter target URL] ANY You can pull a single site review simply by targeting the URL. The output will show where the site is classified in the Growth House category system. See also: Book Review

spirituality spiritual religio ANY Spiritual and religious issues. Note the truncation religio to retrieve religion, religions, religious. Spiritual retrieves both spiritual and spirituality. See also: specific religions

suicide surviors suicide survivor grief ALL Bereavement resources for those who have lost someone to suicide.

teen grief teen grief ALL Bereavement resources for teens and young adults.

teen suicide teen suicide ALL Suicide by teenagers and young adults.

telemedicine telemedicine ALL Telemedicine and tele-education projects for health care.

tube feeding and nutrition palliative nutrition ALL Entubation, removal of feeding tubes, nutritional care for the terminally ill, hydration.

What's New Special format,
see comment Special format,
see comment This search returns a list of all records in the Growth House database which have been added or modified in the past 30 days. This uses the special keyword new= instead of the usual text keyword search strings, so the code for a text link is simply: http://www.growthhouse.org/cgi/search.cgi?new=
You cannot do a What's New search and a keyword search at the same time; that is, you cannot search based on both time stamp and specific content. The What's New search works particularly well as a special feature button, so here is sample code for that presentation:

withdrawing treatment withdraw treatment ALL Practical, ethical, and legal issues surrounding withdrawl of life-sustaining treatment.

Topic	Keywords	ALL\|AND	What it retrieves
advocacy groups	advocacy	ANY	Advocacy groups working on end of life care or specific illnesses.
AIDS and HIV	aids hiv	ALL	AIDS and HIV disease. Note: because the word "aids" does not refer to HIV in phrases such as "health aids", always use the term HIV.
AIDS in Asia	hiv asian	ALL	Asian and Pacific Rim resources for AIDS and HIV disease. Note: because the word "aids" does not refer to HIV in phrases such as "health aids", always use the term HIV.
Alzheimer's Disease	alzheimer	ANY	Alzheimer's Disease. Note that the keyword alzheimer retrieves Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's Disease, and Alzheimers (a common user punctuation error). This search is not case-sensitive. See also: dementia
Australian resources	australia	ANY	Australian resources. See also: country and language searches
book lists	e.g., booksdying or any other reserved booklist keyword	ANY	The following reserved keywords are available to create book lists for specific types of books: booksdying bookshospice booksgrief booksprofessional bookspain bookssuicide bookshiv booksfuneral booksspirituality bookschildren booksparents booksalzheimer medicaltextbooks bookseuthanasia booksvolunteers booksasia bookscancer bookstrauma Here is a list format showing how to produce book lists on multiple subjects. Select a topic and press the "show recommended books" button: About Dying Hospice Care Grief Helping Children Bereaved Parents Spirituality Sudden and Traumatic Loss
book review for a single book	[enter target URL]	ANY	You can pull a single book review simply by targeting the URL at Growth House. The output will show where the book is classified in the Growth House category system. Most book reviews include a "see similar books" button which leads them to a booklist. See also: Site Review
British resources	britain british uk u.k.	ANY	British resources. Note that inclusion of the uk keyword will also pull items located on british web servers with the .uk extension. If that is not desired, remove the uk parameter. This search will pull items located in British Columbia, Canada, as well. See also: country and language searches
Buddhist resources	buddh	ANY	Buddhist resources. The keyword buddh retrieves Buddhist, Buddhism, Buddha. See also: spirituality
Canadian resources	canada canadian	ANY	Canadian resources. See also: country and language searches
cancer	cancer	ANY	Cancer, various specific sarcomas, oncology.
cancer, pediatric	pediatric oncolog	ALL	Note that the keyword oncolog will pull oncology, oncologist, oncologists, oncological, etc.
caregiving	caregiv	ANY	The search term caregiv retrieves caregiving, caregiver, caregivers. This is a very general search and may be less effective than searching for the specific type of caregiving which interests you.
chat rooms	chat	ANY	Online chat rooms and real-time messaging services.
Christian resources	christ	ANY	Christian resources. The keyword christ retrieves Christian, Christianity. See also: spirituality
[country or language]	Enter country or language desired, e.g., sweden swedish	ANY	For best results use country and language variant keywords with an ANY search
cultural issues	sociology	ANY	Sociology, anthropology, cross-cultural studies.
death and dying overviews	deathoverview	ANY	The special keyword deathoverview is used to pull resources which give a comprehensive or cross-cultural overview of death and dying. This keyword is associated with some records based on the judgement of Growth House staff.
dementia	dementia	ANY	All dementias, including Alzheimer's Disease and HIV dementia. See also: Alzheimer's Disease
durable power of attorney and living wills	durable power attorney	ALL	Durable power of attorney, living wills, advance directives. Content of this type is systematically coded by Growth House using the keywords shown.
euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide	euthanasia	ANY	The terminology for voluntary taking of one's own life as death approaches varies widely in different sources, and has political implications. Terms such as euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, PAS, and deliverance are all terms which some resources use to describe the same practice. We make no judgement about the correctness of one term over another, but use the keyword euthanasia within the database to facilitate searching across the political spectrum on this issue. Use of a single, unique word such as euthanasia produces more precise output than use of longer phrases. You can call it whatever you want in your user interface.
funding and grants	funding grants philanthropy	ANY	Sources for funding and grants.
hospice work "Top 10" internet resources	workertop10	ANY	A carefully-chosen list of Growth House picks for the top ten most useful resources for day-to-day support of hospice workers and volunteers. Emphasis is on sites hospice staff can use to get ideas and answers for common questions.
Jewish resources	jewish	ANY	Jewish resources. See also: spirituality
memorial sites	memorial	ANY	Memorial sites. Note: Growth House does not generally list memorial sites unless they are noteworthy in some other regard, or are centers of memorial rings.
news and events	news events	ANY	News sources, newsletters, calendars of events.
remote search sites	remotesearch	ANY	Lists all websites which are authorized users of the Growth House remote search engine.
site review for a single resource	[enter target URL]	ANY	You can pull a single site review simply by targeting the URL. The output will show where the site is classified in the Growth House category system. See also: Book Review
spirituality	spiritual religio	ANY	Spiritual and religious issues. Note the truncation religio to retrieve religion, religions, religious. Spiritual retrieves both spiritual and spirituality. See also: specific religions
suicide surviors	suicide survivor grief	ALL	Bereavement resources for those who have lost someone to suicide.
teen grief	teen grief	ALL	Bereavement resources for teens and young adults.
teen suicide	teen suicide	ALL	Suicide by teenagers and young adults.
telemedicine	telemedicine	ALL	Telemedicine and tele-education projects for health care.
tube feeding and nutrition	palliative nutrition	ALL	Entubation, removal of feeding tubes, nutritional care for the terminally ill, hydration.
What's New	Special format, see comment	Special format, see comment	This search returns a list of all records in the Growth House database which have been added or modified in the past 30 days. This uses the special keyword new= instead of the usual text keyword search strings, so the code for a text link is simply: http://www.growthhouse.org/cgi/search.cgi?new= You cannot do a What's New search and a keyword search at the same time; that is, you cannot search based on both time stamp and specific content. The What's New search works particularly well as a special feature button, so here is sample code for that presentation:
withdrawing treatment	withdraw treatment	ALL	Practical, ethical, and legal issues surrounding withdrawl of life-sustaining treatment.