BioCASe help: Searches

The following tips can help you fine-tune your searches and locate precise results.

BioCASe does not support explicit use of standard wildcards. However, certain fields do allow the user to enter either a full or partial search term.

The Basic Search pages let you use a qualifier to specify whether to search for the exact, starting with, ending with, or containing match for your search term.

On the Advanced Search pages there are no specific qualifiers, but many of the fields let you enter either a full or partial search term.

Combining Search Terms with AND/OR

For advanced searches, BioCASe requires that you specify whether to combine search criteria from various fields with AND or OR. AND narrows down a search, while OR expands a search.

Note: The default within each category is OR. If you choose more than one item in any one category those specific terms will be combined with OR.

Example

If you enter ‘fungi’ for a taxon name and ‘United Kingdom’ for the country location of the data holder:

AND will return results for data holders located in the United Kingdom that have collections containing fungi.

OR will return results for data holders located in the United Kingdom that do or do not contain fungi and results for data holders containing fungi that may or may not be located in the United Kingdom.

If you choose both the United Kingdom and Spain as country locations, the search will use a default OR for that field and find data holders that are located in the United Kingdom, as well as data holders that are located in Spain.

Term Lists

Some search fields on the Collections and Institutions advanced search page let you either enter free text or select terms from an alphabetized list. Alphabetized lists appear beneath or to the right of the related input field.

The fields that have related alphabetic lists are taxon, common name, [data repository] name and town, and [person] name.

Note: Alphabetized lists are compiled from terms that are stored in the BioCASe repository of collection-related information provided by national nodes, so you are more likely to locate results for search terms chosen from a list than you are for a free text entry.

Selecting Multiple List Items

Some search fields on the Collections and Institutions advanced search page have list boxes that allow you to select several terms at a time.

The fields that are list boxes are category of objects, category of collection, category of organization, and country.

§ To select multiple terms from a list box, select the first term and then press the <Ctrl> button on the keyboard while you select any additional terms.

Navigation Tips

The following tip(s) can help you navigate the BioCASe site.

Returning to previous pages: The Back Button

Do not use the back button on your web browser when using the BioCASe. Instead, use the Back button on the BioCASe user interface, where it appears.

When the back button is not present on a page, you can usually return to a former page with the help of other buttons, such as Revise Search or New Search.

Searching for Organizations and Collections

The Collections and Institutions section of the BioCASe lets you search for general information about collections and institutions, such as name, location, administration, and type of content.

Basic Search: Keyword or Keyphrase

The Basic search option in the Organizations and Collections section lets you search for organizations and collections by using a single keyword or keyphrase.

The keyword or keyphrase can be anything related to the organization or collection - a full or partial string representing the name, address, contact person name, taxon name, common name, geospatial region, or stratigraphic time period.

The following search field is available on the collection level Basic Search page:

keyword

Keyword or keyphrase related to anything about an organization or collection.

Select a qualifier and enter all or part of a word or phrase

§ To use the basic search option:

1. Click Collections and Institutions on the navigation menu.

2. Click Basic Search on the navigation menu.

3. Select a qualifier from the drop-down list to specify whether to search for exact, starting with, ending with, or containing matches for your search term.

4. Enter a keyword or keyphrase in the keyword field.

5. Click the Search button.

6. View the results.

Practice Searches:

1. Enter the keyword 'fungi' to search for collections that contain specimens of fungi.

2. Enter the keyword 'Rudkoebing' or 'Rudko' to search for details about an aquarium that is located on a street called Rudkoebing in Denmark.

3. Enter the keyphrase 'Marine ecological survey' and choose the qualifier 'containing' to search for marine ecological surveys.

4. Enter the keyphrase 'National Park' and choose the qualifier 'containing' to search for national parks.

Advanced Search: Multiple Criteria

The Advanced search option in the Organizations and Collections section lets you create a very specific search for organizations and collections by combining multiple search criteria.

The following search fields are available on the collection level Advanced Search page:

taxon name

Taxonomic name of specimens or observations in a collection.

Enter all or part of a name (eg Crustacea or Crusta) or select one or more names from the alphabetic list.

common name

Common name of specimens or observations in a collection.
Enter all or part of a name (eg Animals or ani) or select one or more names from the alphabetic list.

geospatial region

Geospatial region where specimens or observations in a collection were gathered.
Enter all or part of part of a region (eg Africa or Af) or browse to select one or more regions from the tree.

timeperiod

Stratigraphic age of specimens in a collection.
Enter all or part of a time period (eg Triassic or Tria) or browse to select one or more periods from the chart.

category of objects

Category of specimens in a collection.
Select one or more categories from the list.

includes type specimens

Collections that contain type specimens.
Click the checkbox to search for collections containing type specimens.

[data holder] name

Name of a network, organization, or collection.
Enter all or part of a data holder name (eg Institut Pasteur or Institu) or select a name from the alphabetic list.

[data holder] country

Country where the network, organization, or collection is located.
Select one or more countries from the list.

[data holder] town

Town where the network, organization, or collection is located.
Enter all or part of a town name (eg London or Lon) or select one or more towns from the alphabetic list.

category of organization

Category of organization holding collection(s).
Select one or more categories from the list.

category of collection

Category of collection.

Select one or more categories from the list.

[Person] name

Persons related to the data holder (network, organization, or collection).

Enter all or part of a person's name (eg Abbott or Abb) or select a name from the alphabetic list.

§ To use the advanced search option:

1. Click Collections and Institutions on the navigation menu.

2. Click Advanced Search on the navigation menu.

3. Enter or select as many search terms in the various fields as you wish.

4. Select AND or OR to specify how to combine your search criteria.

5. Click the Search button.

6. View the results.

Practice Searches:

1. Enter the taxon 'Bromeliaceae' and the person name 'Jebb' to search for collections that contain specimens of bromeliaceae and have a contact by the name of 'Jebb'.

2. Enter the taxon 'Coleoptera', the geospatial region 'Africa', and the country 'Belgium' to search for collections in Belgium containing specimens of Coleoptera that may have been gathered in Africa.

Browsing Collection Information

The Browse search option in the Organizations and Collections section arranges information about organizations and collections by topic. When you click on a topic you are presented with a list of subtopics. If you continue to click on subtopics you will eventually reach a detailed description for a single organization or collection.

Note: Many of the subtopic lists may not be comprehensive since they are compiled only from data drawn from the BioCASe repository of collection level information.

The following chart illustrates the topics in the Browse section and their related subtopics.

Networks	Full description for a single network
Organizations	Alphabetized organization names		Full description for a single organization
	Organizations arranged by category
Collections	Alphabetized collection names		Full description for a single collection
	Collections organized by category.
	Collections organized by types of objects
Persons	Organizations and collections organized by contact person	Full description for a single organization or collection
Location	Towns in a country	Organizations and collections in a town	Full description for a single organization or collection
	Regions in a country	Organizations and collections in a region
	All networks, organizations or collections in a particular country	All networks in a country
		All organizations in a country
		All collections in a country
Collections with items gathered during a particular year or interval	Full description for a single collection
Collections with items by scientific name	Full description for a single collection
Collections with items by common name	Full description for a single collection
Collections with items gathered in a geographic region	Full description for a single collection

§ To use the browse search option:

1. Click Collections and Institutions on the navigation menu.

2. Click Browse on the navigation menu.

3. Click on a topic.

4. View the list of subtopics and click one. Continue to click subtopics until you reach a full description for an organization or collection.

5. View the result.

Practice Browsing

1. Scientific name » A, B, C,....,Z » A » Algae » Agardh Herbarium » Full description of Agardh Herbarium.

2. Location » Belgium » Brussels » Belgian Coordinated Collections of Micro-organisms » Full description of Belgian Coordinated Collections of Micro-organisms.

Searching for Specimens and Observations

The Specimens and Observations section of the BioCASe lets you search for specific information about individual specimens and observations. You can search for specimens or observations by search criteria such as scientific or common names, stratigraphic time periods, and gathering event details.

Basic Search: Taxon Name

The Basic search option in the Specimens and Observations section lets you search for specimens and observations by using a taxon name.

The following search field is available on the specimen level Basic Search page:

taxon name

Full taxonomic name of a specimen or observation.

Enter all or part of a name (eg Philagra quadrimaculata (Schmidt, 1920) or Philagra).

§ To use the basic search option:

1. Click Specimens and Observations on the navigation menu.

2. Click Basic Search on the navigation menu.

3. Select a qualifier from the drop-down list to specify whether to search for exact, starting with, ending with, or containing matches for your search term.

4. Enter a taxon in the taxon name field.

5. Click the Search button.

6. Select the datasources that you would like to search and click the Search button.

7. View the results.

Practice Searches

1. Enter the taxon name 'Draba' to search for specimens of Draba.

2. Enter the taxon name 'Bromeliaceae' to search for specimens of Bromeliaceae.

Advanced Search: Multiple Criteria

The advanced search option in the Specimens and Observations section lets you create a very specific search for specimens and observations by combining multiple search criteria.

The following search fields are available on the specimen level Advanced Search page:

taxon name

Taxonomic name of a specimen or observation.
Enter all or part of a name (eg Philagra quadrimaculata (Schmidt, 1920) or Philagra).

common name

Common name of a specimen or observation.
Enter all or part of part of a common name (eg Sunders Billbergie or Saunders).

higher taxon

Higher taxon name of a specimen or observation.
Enter all or part of a name (eg Lophopidae or Lopho).

stratigraphic age

Stratigraphic age of a specimen.
Enter all or part of a time period (eg Triassic or Tria) or browse to select one or more periods from the chart.

is type specimen

A specimen that is a type specimen.
Click the checkbox to search for specimens that are type specimens.

country

Country where the specimen or observation was gathered.
Select a country from the list.

locality

Area where the specimen or observation was found gathered.
Enter all or part of a locality name (eg Cairo or Ca).

gathering date

Year(s) that a specimen or observation was gathered.

Enter an interval of year(s) (eg from 1960 to 1970).

name of collector

Name of the collector who gathered the specimen or observation.
Enter all or part of a name (eg Klapperich).

data with an image only

Records of specimens or observations that include a link to an image.
Click the checkbox to search for records of specimens or observations that include a link to an image.

§ To use the advanced search option:

1. Click Specimens and Observations on the navigation menu.

2. Click Advanced Search on the navigation menu.

3. Enter or select as many search terms in the various fields as you wish.

4. Select AND or OR to specify how to combine your search criteria.

5. Click the Search button.

6. Select the datasources that you would like to search and click the Search button.

7. View the results.

Practice Searches

1. Enter the taxon name 'Aiphanes minima' and the gathering country 'Barbados' to search for specimens of Aiphanes minima that were found in Barbados.

2. Enter the taxon name 'Hadimopanella' and select the 'Cambrian' period from the time scale chart to search for fossils of Hadimopanella from the Cambrian period.

Viewing Search Criteria

You can view your current search criteria in the Your query section at the left side of the user interface.

Changing Search Criteria

If you are not satisfied with results from a search you may want to revise your search criteria, begin a new search, or reload previous search criteria.

Revising a Search

Click the Revise Search button to revise your search criteria. This action will bring you back to the search page with your previous search criteria so that you can alter them as you wish.

Note: You can delete previous search terms that were chosen from a browse chart or alphabetic list by opening the chart or list and deselecting those items.

Starting a new Search

Click the New Search button to clear your previous search criteria and return to a blank search page.

Reloading a Previous Search

You can reload a previous search that was executed during the same session.

§ To reload a previous search:

1. From the Your query section, select a previous search from the drop-down list.

2. Click the Reload query button. Your previous criteria will now appear in the Your query section.

3. Edit your previous search criteria if you wish.

4. Click Search to execute the search.

Note: The History option only appears after you have executed at least one search.