Searches list

How to use the searches list

The searches list displays searches similar to the searches that you enter on the other pages, but presented in a condensed format. Searches can be moved between folders by dragging and dropping them with the mouse. They can also be copied (Ctrl+C), cut (Ctrl+X), and pasted (Ctrl+V).

The list view displays the following columns. See Citation metrics for details about the various metrics that appear in the list columns.

Column Description
Search terms An abbreviated rendering of the search parameters, intended as a reminder about the search.
Source The data source to which the search was submitted.
Papers The number of results (~papers) returned by the search.
Cites The total number of citations returned by the search.
Cites/year The total number of citations in the search divided by the number of years spanned by the results.
h Hirsch's h-index calculated for the search results.
g Egge's g-index calculated for the search results.
hI, norm Normalized individual h-index calculated for the search results.
hI, annual Annualized individual h-index calculated for the search results.
hA Fassin's hA-index for the search results.
acc10 Number of papers with 10 or more cites/year calculated for the search results.
Search Date The date on which this search was last performed (see Results caching below).
Cache Date The date on which the search data were last retrieved from the data source (see Results caching below).

List view sorting order

By default, the items in the list view are sorted on the search term. You can re-sort them by clicking on a column header; this will cause the list to be sorted on the contents of that column. Clicking on the same column header a second time reverses the sort order. The last used sorting order is retained even when you display a different folder in the list view.

Note that some columns sort in ascending order by default, while others default to sorting in descending order. This is done because for some columns (for example the h-index or the total number of citations) the most important items are the ones with the highest value and are therefore best presented in descending order. You can always reverse the order by clicking on the same column header again.

List view popup menu

If you right-click on any of the queries in the list view, a popup menu appears with the following commands.

Command Description Shortcut
Search

Performs all selected searches. If possible, the searches are satisfied from the local Publish or Perish cache; this saves time and reduces the load on the data sources. If no cache entry for a search exists or the entry is older than the maximum cache age, then the search request is forwarded to the data source. After the results are received from the data source, the local cache is automatically refreshed.

Ctrl+L
Search Direct

Sends all selected search requests directly to the data source, bypassing the local Publish or Perish cache. This may be useful if you suspect that the data source may have newer information available than is available through the local cache. When the results are received from the data source, the local cache is automatically refreshed.

Note: It is not useful to perform multiple direct lookups for the same search shortly after another; this merely increases the load on the data source and increases the chance that you may be temporarily denied access. We recommend that you only use the Search Direct function as a last resort.

Ctrl+Shift+L
Mark for Search Marks the selected search or searches for a new search request. This is meant to prepare for batch-style processing in conjunction with the the regular Search command.  
New ... Search Creates a new search item aimed at the indicated data source. It will be placed in the the parent folder of the currently selected search.  
Import External Data... Imports external data into Publish or Perish.  
Save As BibTeX... Saves the results of all currently selected searches in BibTeX format, encoded as Unicode UTF-8.  
Save As CSV... Saves the results of all currently selected searches in comma-separated format, encoded as Unicode UTF-8. Ctrl+S
Save As EndNote... Saves the results of all currently selected searches in EndNote Import format, encoded as Unicode UTF-8. Ctrl+Shift+S
Save As RefMan/RIS... Saves the results of all currently selected searches in Reference Manager (RIS) format, encoded as Unicode UTF-8.  
Copy Metrics as CSV Copies the citation metrics of all currently selected searches to the clipboard in CSV (comma-separated value) format. You can then paste this into other applications for further processing.  

Copy Metrics as CSV
with Header

Does the same as the previous command, but precedes the statistics with an extra line that contains the names of the fields, also in comma-separated format.  
Copy Metrics for Excel Copies the citation metrics of all currently selected searches to the clipboard in tab-separated format. You can then paste this into other applications for further processing, and in particular into spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel, Numbers, OpenOffice Calc, and SoftMaker's PlanMaker.  
Copy Metrics for Excel
with Header
Does the same as the previous command, but precedes the statistics with an extra line that contains the names of the fields, also in tab-separated format.  
Rename Allows in-place editing of the search name. Only imported data collections can be renamed. F2
Cut

Copies the currently selected searches to the clipboard and delete them from their current positions. You can then paste them into a different folder.

Ctrl+X
Copy Copies the currently selected searches to the clipboard. You can then paste them into a different folder. Ctrl+C
Paste Pastes the folder or search from the clipboard into the current folder. Ctrl+V
Delete

Deletes the currently selected queries.

  • If you use this command on searches in the Trash folder, then the removal of the items is permanent; you will be asked to confirm the deletion in that case.
  • If you use this command on searches not in the Trash folder, then the selected item(s) will be moved to the Trash folder without further ado. If you want to restore them, you can retrieve them from the Trash folder and drag & drop them to a regular folder.
Delete

Results caching

Publish or Perish uses a local cache for the data returned by searches. If you re-run a search, then Publish or Perish will retrieve the results data from the local cache instead of contacting the data source again, provided that the cached data is still "fresh". If the cached data is too old, or if no cached data exists, then Publish or Perish sends the search request to the data source and stores the new results in the local cache for subsequent use.

The Search Date and Cache Date columns in the list view show the status of the search and cached data.

  • Search Date is the date on which you last performed the query, i.e., last issued the Search [Direct] command.
  • Cache Date is the date on which the data were last retrieved from the data source.

Typically, the Search Date is the same or more recent than the Cache Date. If the Search Date is more recent, this means that the search request on that date used the cached results rather than contacting the data source. This is normal behavior.

Out-of-date cached data

If the Cache Date is too long ago or missing altogether, then the list view will display a small blue "refresh" icon in front of the search. This means that the Cache Date is exceeds the maximum cache age specified in the Preferences dialog box.

In the case of out-of-date cached data, Publish or Perish will resubmit the search request to the data source the next time that you use the Search command. This happens automatically when you issue that command; you do not have to do anything special for that.

If you want to refresh the cache before the data expires, use the Search Direct command. This might occasionally turn up some extra results, but there is no point in using Search Direct more than once every few days; this merely increases the load on the data source and increases the risk that your search request will be refused. Under normal circumstances you should rely on Publish or Perish's automatic caching implementation.