Proximity operators

Proximity operator

A proximity operator is a command in electronic retrieval that allows you to locate one word within a certain distance of another in a given field in a given record / document.

In Dialog,

the (W) operator specifies that terms be adjacent to each other and in the order specified,
the (nW) operator specifies that terms be within a specified number (n) of words of each other and in the specified order,
the (N) operator specifies that terms be adjacent to each other but in any order,
the (nN) operator specifies that terms appear within a specified number (n) of words of each other but in any order,
the (L) operator specifies that terms be in the same descriptor unit (heading-subheading entries),
the (S) operator specifies that terms be in the same subfield unit as defined by the database.

Literature:

Dialog Pocket guide: http://support.dialog.com/searchaids/dialog/pocketguide/

Kostoff, R. N.; Rigsby, J. T. & Barth, R. B. (2005). Adjacency and proximity searching in the Science Citation Index and Google. DTIC Technical Report Number ADA 442 888. Defense Technical Information Center. Fort Belvoir, VA. Available at http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/special/354/technowatch/docs/ADJACENCY_SEARCHING_RNK_DTIC_REPORT_1.pdf

Kostoff, R. N.; Rigsby, J. T. & Barth, R. B. (in press). Adjacency and proximity searching in the Science Citation Index and Google. Journal of Information Science. 32. In Press. http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/special/354/technowatch/docs/JIS%2032_6_%2005_Kostoff.pdf

Online Library Learning Center: http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit04/primer04_10.phtml