Astrophysics Data System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:26, 20 January 2024

Revision as of 19:31, 1 February 2024

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==Search engine==

[[Image:A complex ADS search.png|thumb|right|An example of a complex search combining object, title and abstract queries with a date filter]]

Since its inception, the ADS has developed a highly complex [[search engine]] to query the abstract and [[Object database|object databases]]. The search engine is tailor-made for searching astronomical abstracts, and the engine and its [[user interface]] assume that the user is well-versed in astronomy and able to interpret search results which are designed to return more than just the most relevant papers. The database can be queried for author names, [[astronomical object]] names, title words, and words in the abstract text, and results can be filtered according to a number of criteria. It works by first gathering synonyms and simplifying search terms as described above, and then generating an "inverted file", which is a list of all the documents matching each search term. The user-selected logic and filters are then applied to this inverted list to generate the final search results.<ref name="search">{{cite journal |last1=Eichhorn |first1=G. |last2=Kurtz |first2=M.J. |last3=Accomazzi |first3=A. |last4=Grant |first4=C.S. |last5=Murray |first5=S.S. |year=2000 |title=The NASA Astrophysics Data System: The search engine and its user interface |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series |volume=143 |issue=1 |pages=61–83 |doi=10.1051/aas:2000171 |bibcode=2000A&AS..143...61E |arxiv=astro-ph/0002102 |s2cid=2787647}}</ref>

===Author name queries===

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Although it was conceived as a means of accessing abstracts and papers, ADS provides a substantial amount of ancillary information along with search results. For each abstract returned, links are provided to other papers in the database which are referenced, and which cite the paper, and a link is provided to a preprint, where one exists. The system also generates a link to 'also-read' articles – that is, those which have been most commonly accessed by those reading the article. In this way, an ADS user can determine which papers are of most interest to astronomers who are interested in the subject of a given paper.<ref name="search" />

Also returned are links to the [[SIMBAD]] and/or [[NASA Extragalactic Database]] object name databases, via which a user can quickly find out basic observational data about the objects analyzed in a paper, and find further papers on those objects.

==Impact on astronomy==

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==Sociological studies using ADS==

Because it is used almost universally by astronomers, ADS can reveal much about how astronomical research is distributed around the world. Most users access the system from institutes of higher education, whose [[IP address]] can easily be used to determine the user's geographical ___location. Studies reveal that the highest per-capita users of ADS are France and Netherlands-based astronomers, and while more developed countries (measured by [[GDP per capita]]) use the system more than less developed countries; the relationship between GDP per capita and ADS use is not linear. The range of ADS usage per capita far exceeds the range of GDPsGDP per capita, and basic research carried out in a country, as measured by ADS usage, has been found to be proportional to the square of the country's GDP divided by its population.<ref name="impact" /> Statistics also imply that there are about three times as many astronomers in countries of European culture as in countries of [[Culture of Asia|Asian culture]]s, perhaps suggesting cultural differences in the importance attached to astronomical research.<ref name="impact" /> The amount of basic research carried out in a country is found to be proportional to the number of astronomers in that country multiplied by its GDP per capita, with considerable scatter.

ADS has also been used to show that the fraction of single-author astronomy papers has decreased substantially since 1975 and that astronomical papers with more than 50 authors have become more common since 1990.<ref name="trends">{{cite journal |author-link1=Eric Schulman |last1=Schulman |first1=E. |last2=French |first2=J.C. |last3=Powell |first3=A.L. |last4=Eichhorn |first4=G. |last5=Kurtz |first5=M.J. |last6=Murray |first6=S.S. |year=1997 |title=Trends in Astronomical Publication Between 1975 and 1996 |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |volume=109 |pages=1278–1284 |doi=10.1086/134008 |bibcode=1997PASP..109.1278S |s2cid=122859920 |doi-access=free}}</ref>