Newsdesk Feature Spotlight: Searching Using NEAR

May 2, 2013 Chad Bolender Leave a Comment

What is it?

Moreover recently introduced a new search operator that functions similar to proximity searches (“keyword1 keyword2″~5). You can specify 2 groups of keywords that must appear near each other. You can also set how many words apart they should be.

Example:

(CAT caterpillar) NEAR/10 (tractor construction)

This looks for the words “CAT” or “caterpillar” within 10 words of “tractor” or “construction.”

Why use it?

NEAR is another tool in a user’s toolbox for creating a focused and relevant search. If the combo of Boolean logic and Newsdesk’s filters aren’t providing enough granular control over search results, NEAR may be the answer.

NEAR fills the gap between exact phrases, which may be too strict, and simply using the AND operator, which may be too broad. It allows more flexibility.

Example:

(gold silver copper palladium platinum) NEAR/5 (ETF* “exchange traded fund” stock*)

Using NEAR here saves you the time of writing out “gold ETF,” “silver ETF,” and so on. It also catches cases where an article phrases them in a different order, e.g. “ETFs for gold and silver.”

Nested search:

The NEAR operator can be used within a longer search. Here I’m looking for stories mentioning Les Wexner in conjunction with specific electric car companies.

(“Les Wexner” “Leslie Wexner” “limited brands”) AND ((fisker coda) AND ((car* vehicle*) NEAR/10 (electric green “plug-in” plugin))) NOT (“wexner center” osu “ohio state”)

Go try it out in your own Newsdesk account.

Filed under: search

Tags: near