Descriptors are individual words or multi-word phrases that have been hyphenated. To search for a particular mineral species, use the common name of that species and any variations. To search for groups of minerals, use the group name and as many specific names as necessary for comprehensive retrieval. Use parentheses when combining terms to insure that your search statement is interpreted correctly. Each record in the GeoRef database contains one or more descriptors that define the specific topics of the article.
Descriptors are individual words or multi-word phrases that have been hyphenated.
Use truncation to retrieve singular and plural forms of specific rock names, sediment types or structures. When searching a general topic such as igneous rocks, sediments, or sedimentary structures, use the general term plus as many specific names as possible. Use parentheses when combining terms to insure that your search statement is interpreted correctly. The List of Permuted Terms is an alphabetical list of all the controlled vocabulary terms, called descriptors, used to index records in the database. The Term Details for a Thesaurus term may contain Narrower terms, Related terms, Broader terms, Scope notes, and Used For notes.