FULL SEARCHES

Full Searches

This ScreenCast describes the use of Full Searches in Transana, including demonstrating Transana’s Search Interface, saving Search Specifications, and convert Search Results to Collections in Transana.

Full Searches

Full searches allow you to do complex searches, searching for keywords, collection membership, and text using Boolean logic.

To perform a full search with two Keywords, follow these directions:

Right-click the Search node in the Database Tree in the Data window and choose Search from the pop-up menu. Transana opens the Search Interface.

Under Search Name, create a good, descriptive name, as it is easy to lose track of your process when doing multiple searches in a single analysis session without this.

Click one of your Keywords from in the Keywords list.  Click the Add Keyword to Query button.

Click the AND button under the label Operators in the dialog box. Notice that because your search specification is currently incomplete, the Search button at the bottom of the form is disabled.

Double-click another Keyword in the Keywords list in the dialog box to add it to your search. (Double-clicking is equivalent to selecting a Keyword and clicking the Add Keyword to Query button.)

You will see that the Search button is now enabled. Transana’s search dialog is designed to only allow legal searches. If the Search button is not enabled, it’s because there is an open parenthesis, a dangling Boolean operator, or some other mistake in your search specification.

Notice that there is a Collections tab in the Search interface. This allows you to specify the inclusion or exclusion of specific Collections during the Search process. Thus, Collection membership can act like a Keyword during Search.

In the lower left hand corner of the search dialog box, there are buttons that allow you to load, save, and delete search specifications. While we will not use these now, they can be useful when you wish to design a search you will use repeatedly as your data evolves.

Click Search to begin searching.

Text Search

You can search for individual words or exact phrases in the text of your Transcripts Transcripts using the Text Search field on the Search dialog. You can also combine Keyword and Text search terms as appropriate.

Search Results

Transana displays the results of your search in the database tree.

When a search displays Clips, you can review them by right-clicking the Search Result node and selecting Play All Clips.

Take a moment to notice what is not included in these search results. Transana has returned only data items that include both of the Keyword specified in the search. Had we used OR instead of AND, for course, we would have gotten very different results.