Help for the
Common Name Finder Screen (Search Option)
CONTENTS
Main Display Screen Area
Overview
The Main Display Area of the
Common Name Finder Screen (Search Option) displays user-selectable controls,
taxon lists and associated
header and footer information. With
this Finder you
can quickly search the TIARA system's "common name" data for taxa
of interest using one or
more words that you enter. Search results are displayed in the form
of a taxon list that contains direct links to the Home Pages of taxa that match your name search criteria, and their associated higher taxa.
Taxon List Header Lines
- Finder name and option
- Search criteria for the active taxon list
- List item count (linecount) for the active taxon
list
User-selectable Controls
- "Finder options:" combo box - Make a
choice from the "Finder options:" combo box to switch among the available
options of the Common Name Finder. Selecting an option from the
combo box immediately loads the chosen Finder option.
- "Search
for:" text box - Enter the text you want to search for in the "Search for:" text
box. Initiate the search by pressing the "Enter" key or by
clicking on either the "and Search" or "or Search" button. If
multiple words are entered in the text box, pressing the
"Enter" key will default to an "and" search. For additional notes and tips on the search functionality
implemented on this screen, see Tips and Functionality below.
- "and Search" button - Click on the "and Search" button to perform an "and" (intersection) search based
on multiple words entered in the "Search for:" text box.
- "or Search" button - Click on the "or Search" button to perform an "or" (union) search based
on multiple words entered in the "Search for:" text box.
- "Reset" button - Click on the "Reset" button to clear
the "Search for:" text box and position the cursor at the beginning of the box to receive a new search word.
Taxon home page icon - Click on a yellow Taxon Home Page
Icon to jump to the Home Page for the taxon whose
name the icon follows.
- "Top" - Click on the Top link (located below the taxon list) to jump to the top of the Main Display Screen Area.
- Scroll Bars - Depending upon your monitor screen size, browser window size and the
length of the displayed taxon list, you may see scroll bars on the right
and/or bottom of the Main Display Area. Use the scroll bars to move the
Main Display Area vertically and/or horizontally to better view its
contents.
Tips and Functionality
Basic Functionality
- Searches are case insensitive (e.g., proper names
do not need to be capitalized).
- Searches match only complete words. Searches for partial words
will return nothing or unpredictable results.
- Searches may contain any number of multiple words.
Separate each word by a single space. Do not use any punctuation (e.g., comma, semicolon, etc.) to separate
words. See also Search Tips below.
- Searches return lists of names of species or higher groups that match
your search criteria. Each line in the returned list contains a link
() to the
Home Page of the matching species or higher group, and links to the Home
Pages of its associated higher groups.
- If only a single word match is found, the system
automatically moves to the Taxon Page corresponding to that word. If this
moves you to an unexpected page, use the TIARA
"Back" button to return to the Common Name Finder Screen
to check the results of your search.
- Searches return lists of matching names arranged in
ascending alphabetical order.
Search Tips
- Use the
multiple word search functionality to search concurrently for multiple species
or higher groups (e.g., apple maggot, wasps). Separate individual words by a
single space. Select an "and" or "or" search by clicking
on the appropriate Search button. The default functionality associated with
pressing the "Enter" key while the cursor is located within the
"Search for:" text box is an "and" search.
- You can also use the multiple word search functionality to
search for common names that consist of more than one
word. However, it is generally easier to search using just
one word of the name (preferably the first word), and then
select the desired species from the returned list.
- Because the precise spellings of common names are
generally poorly standardized (especially the hyphenation and compounding of
the elements of multi-part common names), if you don't find what you are
looking for under your initial word, try one or more of the following
variations: (1) try searching under one word of a multi-word name, (2) try
hyphenating one or more elements of a multi-word name, (3) try separating
the combined elements of obvious compound words, and searching under one
element or the other, (4) try combining separate words into plausible
compound words and searching under the compound word.
- The Common Name Finder (Search Option) uses a
simple form of fuzzy logic to retrieve in a single query any matching
singular and/or pleural name forms based on the roots of simple English
pleural words ending in -s, -es or -ies. For example: (1) entering either
"ant" or "ants" will return common names containing the
separate words "ant" and/or "ants", (2) entering either
"fly" or "flies" will return common names containing the
separate words "fly" and/or "flies" [but compound words
ending in "fly" or "flies", such as
"butterfly" or "dragonflies", would not be recovered
with this search]. This functionality avoids the need to perform multiple
searches to identify common names that differ only by the common English
-s/-es/-ies pleural endings. Note however, that more irregular or complex
singular/pleural formations cannot currently be located in a single query in
this manner. In such cases, multiple searches may be required to locate all
common names of interest.
- The "and Search" and
"or Search" buttons operate on the current contents of the
"Search for:" text box and may be used in any combination as needed
without reentering strings into the text box. With this functionality, you can
also modify (or add, or delete) one (or more) of a long list of entries in
the "Search for:" box without having to retype the complete string over from
scratch.
- The yellow Taxon Home Page icons returned in the
name lists may be slow to load if they are particularly numerous, if the
server is busy, or if your connection is slow. However, if the adjacent text
allows you to identify the positions where the icons will load, these
positions are generally clickable even if the icon is not visible. Thus,
after a little practice, you may be able to proceed to the desired Taxon
Pages without having to wait for these icons to load.
Caveats !!!
- Because the usage of common names varies
regionally, culturally and linguistically, and often does not precisely mesh
with the international standards established for the naming of species and
higher groups by biologists using scientific nomenclature, the scope of some
common names will not exactly match any of the Taxon Pages that form the
underlying basis of the TIARA system (TIARA pages are based on biological
concepts of species and higher groups that are denoted by scientific names).
For this reason also, the usage of a common name in the TIARA system may not
correspond to the regional usage with which a particular user is familiar. The common names included in the TIARA system have been drawn
from a variety of sources, including scientific society lists and
names from standard text books and reference works. Where the correspondence
between common and scientific names is not precise, we have used our best
judgement to establish linkages between such names. We are well aware
of the inadequacies of this procedure and realize that
some of our choices will not be universally acceptable.
- Many species and
higher taxa have no common names and are known only by their scientific
names. This is particularly true for the vast majority of invertebrates,
such as most groups of insects. To access information on these species, one
must become familiar with the scientific nomenclature of the groups of interest. We hope that
the common name / scientific name "translation" facilities of the TIARA system can
function as a tool to facilitate this process.
- It is not the intent or purpose of the TIARA
system to establish or promote the usage of particular systems of common
names (though we would agree that systems of common names that have the
backing of professional scientific societies and similar organizations have
an added degree of authority in terms of attempting to establish
"standard" common names). Rather, through the use of common names
that reflect existing uage(s) the TIARA system seeks to provide for those not fully familiar with
scientific nomenclature alternative ways to access the tremendous diversity of biological information that
is internationally organized using scientific names.
More Information . . .