By Melissa Rayner
Our textual analysis tools set us apart. Only with Gale can faculty and student researchers easily look for relationships between words and phrases within library resources. And it just got better with new upgrades to our term cluster functionality.
“The textual analytic tools offered by Gale products, like ‘Term Clusters’ and ‘Term Frequency,’ have streamlined the way in which I collect, analyze, and write about my primary sources. These tools allow me to locate pertinent information in large corpus of texts so that I can focus my time effectively.” -Cal Murgu, Academic Coordinator, HCGSA, M.A Candidate, History & Classical Studies, McGill University
Term Cluster Wheel
Because it starts by looking at your search results, it already knows your area of interest. The tool sorts through the text and index terms of the articles from your first search. If your topic is too broad, the tool can help by suggesting narrower or related topics and, then, by pointing you to the selected results that cover both search terms.
If you are a sophisticated researcher following a line of interest, term cluster wheels may actually help extend a search by making new connections found right in the text of the documents.
Term Cluster Tile
The brand new term cluster tiles analyze your search results the same way the wheels do, but provides a different visual layout to help you sort through the best keyword and topical matches for your original query.
Both tools have been further honed to provide you with only the best, most relevant search results. The help page has also been given a refresh—in the form of an overlay right on top of the populated term cluster—to help you get the most out of this fun and interactive feature.
The new and improved term clusters tool are now available in select Gale resources. Come November, it will be available in all eligible resources, including: Gale Artemis: Primary Sources, Associated Press Collections Online, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Smithsonian Collections Online, and many others.
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About the Author
Melissa is obsessed with books, birds, and bonbons. She is a new mom and holds an MA in Applied Sociology. She also writes fiction and skips about the interweb as Emlyn Chand.
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