SAO/NASA ADS -> Help -> Understanding the Results
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    3.1 - Short Reference Display

    The list of references returned from a query is displayed in a tabular format. The returned references are sorted by score first. For equal scores, the references are sorted by publication date with the latest publications displayed first.

    A typical reference display contains the following (from left to right):

    Below the bibliographic code is the List of Authors for the reference. The complete Title is displayed below the score, date and list of links.

    At the top of the Short Reference Display, the number of retrieved abstracts is displayed, along with the total number of references that were found for the query. The maximum number of references returned can be selected on the Main Query Page.

    At the bottom of the Short Reference Display, there are more options (e.g. Formatting Options, Second Order Operators, and Get Next Set of References) that the user can use with the list of results, as well as the list of the query parameters. The available options are further explained in the following sections of the Help Pages.



    3.1.1 - Bibliographic Code

    The Bibliographic Code (or bibcode for short) is a unique identifier for each reference in the ADS. Its structure is described in the section bibliographic identifiers. The bibcode has a hyperlink to the full abstract with a checkbox to its left allowing the user to select that reference.



    3.1.2 - Score

    The Score is determined during the search according to how well each reference matches the query. The scoring is described in the section Weighted Scoring



    3.1.3 - Date

    The Date is the publication date of the reference in the form mm/yyyy. If the publication month is unknown, it is displayed as 00.



    3.1.4 - List of Links

    The list of Links is displayed as a series of letters, each standing for an option to access information related to the article. These links vary for each reference, since not all possible links are available for each reference. A roll-over display shows a box with the name of each link. The color of that box alerts the user if that particular link connects inside or outside of the ADS. Yellow links connect within the ADS, while pink links connect to outside resources.

    Letters that are green mean that this article is "Open Access", meaning that there is no subscription necessary to access the full text through this link

    IMPORTANT: Once outside the ADS, the user may be prompted for a username/password to access a particular document such as an electronic paper. Managing and granting access to resources outside the ADS is not under our control. Please see the section below for more information on access control.

    The current list of links that may be available for particular bibliographic record are:

    Abbrev. Link Type Explanation
    A Abstract Full abstract of the article. (These abstracts come from different sources)
    C Citations A list of articles that cite the current article. (This list is not necessarily complete)
    D On-line Data Links to on-line data at other data centers.
    E Electronic Article Links to the on-line version of the article. These on-line versions are in HTML format for viewing on-screen, not for printing.
    F Printable Article Links to on-line articles in PDF or Postscript format for printing.
    G Gif Images Links to the images of scanned articles in the ADS Article Service.
    H HEP/Spires Information Links to on-line articles at the HEP/Spires database.
    I Author Comments Links to author supplied additional information (e.g. corrections, additional references, links to data, etc.)
    L Library Entries Links to entries in the Library of Congress and other on-line library system.
    M Multimedia Links to on-line presentations related to bibliographic record.
    N NED Objects Access to the lists of objects for the current article in the NED database.
    O Associated Articles A list of articles that are associated with the current article. These can be errata or other articles in a series.
    P Planetary Data System Links to datasets at the Planetary Data System.
    R References A list of articles referred to in the current article. For older articles these lists are not necessarily complete, they contain only references to articles that are in the ADS database. For some articles that are on-line in electronic form, the "R" link points to the on-line reference list, and therefore the complete list of references in that article.
    S SIMBAD Objects Access to the lists of objects for the current article in the SIMBAD database.
    T Table of Contents Links to the list of all articles in a books or proceedings volume.
    U Also Read Links to the list of articles also read by users who have read this article.
    X arXiv e-print Links to on-line articles in the arXiv database.
    Z Abstract If you have specified a custom format for abstracts, this link will retrieve abstracts in your custom format


    The list of "Also Read" papers is generated by extracting from our logs the list of users (cookies) that have read a particular record in the last 90 days and then collating the list of other papers that those users have also read. The list therefore offers a way for a user to find papers that are likely to be relevant to the original record.

    Please note that the list of "Also Read" papers includes, for e-print records, readership statistics from both the ADS and the arXiv itself, which in some cases boosts the total number by a factor of 10 or so. The reason we add records from their logs is because this gives much better results when computing article co-readership lists.



    3.1.5 - Accessing External Links

    This section describes how to access some on-line documents which are linked through the ADS, but maintained at other sites. Some documents linked through the ADS may require a username and password, in which case details on who to contact for more information is provided below. Many users working for a research institution may have access granted to these resources through their own library's servers, which will handle authentication on their behalf. Please see the help section on library links for more information.

    3.1.5.1 - American Astronomical Society Journals

    HTML and PDF versions of articles appearing in the Astrophysical Journal, Astrophysical Journal Letters, and Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series since the beginning of 1997 are provided by the Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP). HTML and PDF versions of the Astronomical Journal articles published since 1998 are available from the Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP).

    All versions of articles older than one year are freely accessible to the public, while the more recent content is only available to subscribers. If you are experiencing problems accessing this content, please contact custserv@iop.org for additional information and help.

    Scanned versions of ApJ articles prior to 1997 and AJ articles prior to 1998 are freely available from the ADS, by following the "G" link to our online version.

    3.1.5.2 - Astronomy & Astrophysics

    Starting in 2001, HTML and PDF versions of Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) articles are available from EDP Sciences.

    All versions of articles older than one year are freely accessible to the public, while the more recent content is only available to subscribers. For more information, contact web@edpsciences.org

    Scanned versions of A&A and A&AS articles prior to 2001 are freely available from the ADS, by following the "G" link to our online version.

    3.1.5.3 - Elsevier Journals

    All journals listed on the URL above are currently indexed in the ADS holdings. Specific examples are: New Astronomy, Icarus, and Astronomy & Computing are available electronically from https://www.elsevier.com/physical-sciences/physics Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam and require subscriptions.

    For more information on electronic access, please https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals/journal-pricing see Elsevier's journal pricing page.

    3.1.5.4 - Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

    HTML and PDF versions of PASP articles since the beginning of 1998 are provided by the Institute of Physics Publishing (IOP). All versions of articles older than one year are freely accessible to the public, while the more recent content is only available to subscribers. If you are experiencing problems accessing this content, please contact custserv@iop.org for additional information and help.

    Scanned versions of PASP articles prior to 1998 are freely available from the ADS, by following the "G" link to our online version.

    3.1.5.5 - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

    HTML and PDF versions of MNRAS articles from late 1998 are provided by Oxford University Press to institutional and individual subscribers of the MNRAS. Articles older than three years are freely accessible to the public. For more information and help please contact OUP's customer service.

    Scanned versions of MNRAS which are more than two years old are freely available from the ADS, by following the "G" link to our online version.

    3.1.5.6 - SIMBAD

    Links to the Simbad references are indicated by the presence of "S" links which when followed generate lists of objects available for free from the SIMBAD project at CDS. Hyperlinks available in these documents may take you to pages which are accessible only by SIMBAD users. For more information on getting a SIMBAD username, please check the SIMBAD user account information pages or contact question@simbad.u-strasbg.fr

    3.1.5.7 - NED

    Links to the NED objects provided with the "N" links give object lists which are available for free from the NED project at Caltech. For more information, please contact ned@ipac.caltech.edu



    3.1.6 - Authors

    Below the bibliographic code is the List of Authors for the reference. Generally these lists are complete. For some of the older references the lists were truncated at 5 or 10 authors, but every effort has been made to correct these abbreviated author lists. If you should find a reference whose author list is truncated, please use the Abstract Submission Form to help us correct the information.



    3.1.7 - Title

    The complete Title is displayed below the score, date and list of links.



    3.1.8 - Results Formatting Options

    These options are the first set of options below the Short Results Display. Each pull-down menu is a group of options for how to format the returned list, what you want to do with that list, and how to sort the list. This section allows the specification of a custom format according to our custom format specifications. Another option in this section is the capability to email the references in the selected format to an email address.

    You can retrieve references that were selected with the checkbox next to the bibliographic code. In order to select all references in the list, click on the buttom "Select All Records".

    3.1.8.1 - Formatting Options

    This pulldown menu allows the selection of the returned reference format. The following formats are available:

    • HTML, for viewing on your browser (default).
    • Plain text, for printing or saving to a file (PLAINTEXT).
    • Tagged format, for use with database programs (PORTABLE).
    • BibTeX, for use with the BibTeX package in LaTeX documents (BibTeX) (more information on this).
    • EndNote, for loading into EndNote (ENDNOTE).
    • ProCite, for loading into ProCite (PROCITE).
    • RefMan, for loading into RefMan (REFMAN).
    • RefWorks, for loading into RefWorks (REFWORKS).
    • Medlars, for loading into Medlars (MEDLARS).
    • Dublin Core XML, for use with database programs (DUBLINCORE)
    • XML Abstracts, for use with database programs (XML)
    • XML References, for use with database programs (SHORT_XML)
    • AASTeX, for use in LaTeX articles formatted with the AAS macro package (AASTeX).
    • Icarus TeX, for use in LaTeX articles formatted with the Icarus macros (Icarus).
    • MNRAS TeX, for use in LaTeX articles formatted with the MNRAS macros (MNRAS).
    • HTML, for including links to the ADS abstracts in HTML pages (Link).
    • Custom format, for creating your own customized output (Custom).

    3.1.8.2 - Destination

    This pulldown menu allows to set the destination of the returned reference list. The following destinations are available:

    • Display on Screen: This displays the selected reference list in the browser.
    • Send to Printer: This directly prints the selected reference list.
    • Save to File: This allows the user to specify a filename for local storage of the data
    • Load into EndNote: This will directly start EndNote and load the data into EndNote.
    • Load into ProCite: This will directly start ProCite and load the data into ProCite.
    • Load into RefMan: This will directly start RefMan and load the data into RefMan.
    • Load into RefWorks: This will bring up a form that allows uploading the data into RefWorks.
    • Load into Medlars: This allows you to load the data into Medlars.

    3.1.8.3 - Sort Options

    This pulldown menu allows to select different sort options. The available options are:

    • Sort by citation count: This sorts by how many times an article is cited.
    • Sort by normalized citation count: This sorts by how many times an article is cited, normalized to the number of authors for that article.
    • Sort by inverse author count: This sorts the inverse number of authors for that article.
    • Sort by first author name
    • Sort by date (most recent first): This sorts by publication date.
    • Sort by date (oldest first): This sorts by publication date.
    • Sort by entry date: This sorts by the date at which a reference was entered in the database.

    3.1.9 - Adding Articles to Private Library

    The buttons named Add Selected Articles to Private Library and Remove selected articles from Private Library can be used to save a list of records in the user's Private library

    3.1.10 - Second Order Operators

    The section found at the bottom of a list of results is named Find papers related to the above articles. The options in this section allow you to find articles that are related to selected articles from the current list, according to the criteria specified below. In order to select all articles in the list, click on the button "Select All Records".

    The first selection, Find papers similar to selected articles uses the selected items from the references in the current list and executes a query with these items. This ranks the database against the records used for the feedback and sorts it according to how relevant each reference is to the search record.

    The second selection, Get Query Form for selected articles returns a query form that searches the list of current records instead of searching the whole database. This option uses all records in the list, regardless of selection.

    The third selection, Get reference lists for selected articles retrieves the reference lists in all the selected articles and returns it, sorted according to how often each article was referenced.

    The fourth selection, Get citation lists for selected articles retrieves the articles that cited any of the selected articles and returns them sorted according to how many articles each reference cited.

    The fifth selection, Get refereed citation lists for selected articles is like the above selection except that non-refereed articles are removed from the results.

    The sixth selection, Get also-read lists for selected articles retrieves the articles that were also read by the readers of the selected articles in the current list, sorted by how many readers read the articles.

    The seventh selection, Get form to query selected articles only returns a query form that can be used to further select results from the list of articles selected by specifying additional search options. This allows additional refinement of the results displayed.

    The last selection, Get Author-Affiliation form for selected articles returns a list of authors and affiliations found in the selected papers which can be further manipulated and then saved to a comma-separated or spreadsheet table. This provides a useful way for users to create lists of collaborators and their affiliations which is useful for submitting proposals.

    As an option, users can opt to exclude self-citations when requesting citations from a list of selected papers. Two types of self-citation removal are supported: Exclude self-citations from list will return the list of all papers citing the selected list but exclude papers from the list itself. If the original query included an author search component then a second self-citation removal option will be available: Exclude self-citations from author in query will return the list of all papers citing the selected list but exclude all papers for which the original authors are contributors.

    3.1.11 - RSS Feeds

    The bottom of the page displaying search results contains an icon next to link named Get RSS feed for this query. Following this link returns a document that, when used with a proper reader, allows you to receive updates when new results from the given query become available. The RSS protocol, described fully in this wikipedia entry, is typically used by news sites to broadcast the latest news as they break. While the ADS displays an RSS feed link at the bottom of any search result page, it only makes sense to use this link when the results of the input query are expected to change rapidly. For instance, a query on the preprint database for the word galaxy in the abstract is likely to generate new results daily, while a query for the papers published by Edwin Hubble is not. Therefore, while it makes sense to set up an RSS reader to monitor the feed for the first query, it does not make sense to do so in the latter case.

    In order to take advantage of this capability you need to have an RSS capable reader (a.k.a news aggregator), for instance Google reader.



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