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Using Franklin Catalog

Sorting Options

Initial Sort

The initial sort of all keyword searches is Relevance

A search using only the Browse by limits and/or an Author Browse or Subject Heading Browse search, will sort on the unique Franklin MMS ID number. In the results display, these numbers will be ranked smallest to largest in value. Search results may then be resorted by title, author, publication date, and date added.

Sort options displayed in the sort by: pull down menu, visible after completing a search, are:

  • Title (a-z)
  • Title (z-a)
  • Author (a-z)
  • Author (z-a)
  • Publication Date (new-old)
  • Publication Date (old-new)
  • Date Added (new-old)

Sticky Sort

When a keyword search is performed and a sort option other than the default relevance sort is selected, that sort option will be retained for subsequent keyword searches. The sticky sort will cease when a faceted only search is executed. A faceted search includes selecting only the limit values on the left of the search screen or viewing the values of an author or subject heading browse search.

Relevance

The default sort for all searches in the Franklin Catalog is relevance rank. Numerous factors affect the relevance sort:

  • Uniqueness of a search term or phrase in all of Franklin.
  • Proximity of search terms to each other within a record.
  • Number of times a search term occurs anywhere in a record.
  • If a record is smaller and the term appears, it gets a higher score.
  • A weighting formula that favors the appearance of words and phrases in key fields in this order: author, title, subject.
  • Specification of a field increases the weight value given to that word in that field.

Field Weighting

Franklin Fields Keyword Author Title Journal Title Subject
Author (specific) 3 3      
Author (broader) 2 .025      
Title (Specific) 2.5   3    
Title (General) 1.5   0.5    
Journal title (Specific)       3  
Journal title (General)       0.5  
Subject 1       1 for word, 1.5 for phrase
Call Number 0.5        
MARC full record .0.25        

 

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