Implement proper Boolean searches

Here are three searches which should produce the same results but they don't. The search results are next to each expression.

1. (Arius OR arianism) WITHIN 5 WORDS (writing* OR manuscript* OR literature) - 980 results

2. (Arius WITHIN 5 WORDS (writing* OR manuscript* OR literature)) OR (arianism WITHIN 5 WORDS (writing* OR manuscript* OR literature)) - 698 results

3. (Arius, arianism) WITHIN 5 WORDS (writing*, manuscript*, literature) - 114 results.

This gives me real pause about the effectiveness of any search in Logos 6. I'm not sure which search expression gives the correct results.

I designed a professional textual search database a number of years ago using Folioviews which had a proper implementation of Boolean logic.

If Logos is serious about academic and/or professional markets, a proper implementation of Boolean search operators would, I think, be mandatory.

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Comments

Graham Criddle

a proper implementation of Boolean search operators would, I think, be mandatory.

Not to dispute that this would be helpful but does my response to your other thread - at https://community.logos.com/forums/p/115030/761292.aspx#761292 - show how to do what you are trying to achieve within the current software?

Or, briefly, I think that (3) above is giving the correct results.

Bradley Grainger (Logos)

See https://community.logos.com/forums/p/115030/761304.aspx#761304

Mark Barnes

I designed a professional textual search database a number of years ago using Folioviews which had a proper implementation of Boolean logic.

If Logos is serious about academic and/or professional markets, a proper implementation of Boolean search operators would, I think, be mandatory.

The problem is not Logos' implementation of Boolean logic, but that most of your queries are mixing boolean logic with proximity logic. You can't do that.

Think about it this way: if you use a boolean operator, it will return either TRUE or FALSE.

So (Arius OR arianism) WITHIN 5 WORDS (writing* OR manuscript* OR literature) really means (TRUE|FALSE) WITHIN 5 WORDS (TRUE|FALSE), which doesn't make sense.

That's why Logos introduced the list mode (comma separated values within parentheses). Mathematically, lists work like series.

Perhaps what you really want is for Logos to NOT implement boolean logic strictly, and to interpret your first query in the same way as your third. That would probably make life easier, though may have unintended consequences. But it certainly wouldn't be a 'proper' implementation of boolean search operators.

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/761306#Comment_761306

The problem is not Logos' implementation of Boolean logic, but that most of your queries are mixing boolean logic with proximity logic. You can't do that.

Think about it this way: if you use a boolean operator, it will return either TRUE or FALSE.

So (Arius OR arianism) WITHIN 5 WORDS (writing* OR manuscript* OR literature) really means (TRUE|FALSE) WITHIN 5 WORDS (TRUE|FALSE), which doesn't make sense.

Thanks for your helpful explanation of this Mark.