Configuring field boosts
Field boosting allows you to give certain fields a higher relevancy and "boosts" items higher in a profile's search results. The fields you want boosted are given factors to boost by. These fields are already assigned a default value that you can then change to fit your own preferences.
| Field | Default value |
|---|---|
|
First Title value |
100,000 |
|
Subsequent Title values |
10,000 |
|
First Author value |
8,000 |
|
Subsequent Author values |
800 |
|
Initial Title + Initial Author |
100 |
|
First Subject value |
1 |
|
Subsequent Subject value |
1 |
The "First" vs "Subsequent" fields are there to allow you to boost search results that match the "first" higher than search results that match "subsequent." For example, an author's name may be found in a MARC record as the first or initial author, and it may be found as a subsequent author [as when a book is co-authored]. The "First Author value" and "Subsequent Author values" fields allow you to differentiate between the two and assign the "First" a higher relevancy. So if a patron searches an author's name, works that the author wrote as "First Author" will appear in the search results before works that the author wrote as a "Subsequent Author."
If you do not want to differentiate between "First" and "Subsequent" values, then assign them both the same number.
In order for this functionality to work properly, the values you assign to different fields for boosting must be at least a difference of 10. For example, if you want "First Author value" to boost higher than "First Title value," you must assign "First Author value" a number that is at least 10 times more than "First Title value."
| |
The default values for field boosts (seeSee "Field Defaults") are in effect unless you assign a different value to one (or more) of the fields. If you change only one field's value, then only that field is affected. |
If you do not want a field to boost at all, you can set a field boost to "1".
To configure field boosts
- From the Admin console, choose Profiles.
- For the profile you want to work with, choose the Select menu > Configure Field Boosts.
- Choose Add Boost.
- Select the field you want to boost from the fields drop-down.
- Assign the numeric boost value you want to use to override the default for the field (see Fields: Configure Field Boosts).
-
Repeat for every field you want to change.
Important: The default values for field boosts (seeSee "Field Defaults") are in effect unless you assign a different value to one (or more) of the fields. If you change only one field's value, then only that field is affected.
- Save your changes.
-
Refresh the search cache (for information, see Refreshing the search cache).
Note: You do not need to re-index the system for the new boosts to be effective in the search.