Text Search

OCM Subject Codes Search Overview

The OCM Search may be the most powerful aspect of eHRAF because, unlike any other search engine, you are searching for concepts.  Thus, searching for OCM 773 will find every paragraph in our database that relates to the concept of “Mythology,” without the hang-ups of a normal word search that misses synonyms, misspelled words, or paragraphs that simply don’t contain the word “myth.”     

From the other sections, we learned that the OCM subject code for Mythology was 773.  However, if you do not know the subject code off hand, you can click “add” to view the A-Z Index and the OCM Hierarchy found in Browse Subjects (fig 14).

The only major rule in searching with OCMs is that the drop-down box labeled “Match words/phrases within:” is set to “Paragraphs.”  Chapter or sub-chapter titles are not indexed with OCM codes and therefore cannot be searched in this fashion. 

When you search for OCM code 773, you will find that there are 534 matches in 21 documents for the Blackfoot.  Compare that to the 27 matches in 10 documents from our word search, and you see the value of searching with OCMs!   By selecting Blackfoot from the culture list, you see the titles, chapters, and numbered links to paragraph matches (fig 15).  Clicking on one of the numbered links will take you a paragraph about mythology.  In some cases, there may be many matches in one chapter (as in the case of Schultz’s book, The Sun God’s Children).  Rather than opening each paragraph individually, you can click on the chapter heading above the matches to view the whole chapter (fig 16).  Further, if you are looking at the text of a paragraph and you want to see it in the context of the full chapter, simply click on the chapter title above the button labeled “Hide OCM Codes”   

Figure 16: Full-Text Chapter - Click to see image

Instructions:

1.   Click on “Search” at the top of the screen, then type “773” the first box in the OCM section.

2.   Be sure that the “Matchwords/phrases within:” is set to “Paragraphs" and click “Search.”

3.   Find “Blackfoot” under “North America” and select it.  Then scroll down to Schultz’s second book, The Sun God’s Children.

4.   Click on a paragraph number to view the paragraph alone, and then click on the chapter title above the “Hide OCM codes” button to view it in the context of a chapter.