Subject analysis and search strategies – Has the searcher become the bottleneck in the search process?

Many searches are not successful because the searcher either fails to properly identify the subject at hand - and consequently starts searching for the wrong documents – or that the searcher makes a fatal mistake while combining keywords and/or classes during the search itself. This can be avoided by taking a structured approach to searching: (1) Distinguish between analysis of the technical subject, identification of selection criteria and the selection and use of search terms. (2) When analyzing a technical subject, some guidance may be provided by recognizing that the problem is often defined as a cause and effect relationship. The solution can be seen as combination of action and subject, the subject being used to perform the action, and the action being directed at the cause. (3) While searching, a major pitfall is to try to come up with complete sets of keywords and classes for each essential feature and then to combine them for searching. The resultant queries fail to recognize that each search term is useful to a different extent. The article has particular relevance to searches in the patent field.