The primary aim of both these functions is to locate accurately records according to specific criteria entered by the user. Most databases achieve this by using some kind of search. By a process of adjusting the scope of searches, the required documents are located. The disadvantage of this method is that it is in many ways a blind mechanism. The user cannot see or intuit the contents of a database by the results of partially successful searches.
For this reason, we recommend that users locate records by browsing with views. This provides immediate feedback on the structure of the database and the types of records available. Further, a comprehensive system of catagorisation of the views provides numerous access points to database records.
Having said this, and recognising that there are times when browsing may be insufficient for some user's needs, we have also provided for sophisticated full text searching. |