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Subject:Re: limit vs. refine From:Janice Gelb <Janice -dot- Gelb -at- Sun -dot- COM> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Tue, 15 May 2007 07:39:52 +1000
Barker, Evelyn G wrote:
>
> Is there a generally accepted usage for "limit" vs. "refine" when talking about a search? In other words, is there something that spells out when in an interface you use "limit a search" vs. "refine a search"? Do they mean or imply different functionality, and is this spelled out in a style book or other authoritative place?
>
> I checked the techwr-l site for this and my MS Manual of Style but didn't see anything to answer this.
>
I don't know what the official word would be on
this from authoritative sources. However, these
terms don't mean the same thing to me. Refining
a search to me means that your search has not
gotten useful results, commonly either because
you've gotten no hits or you've gotten too many
hits. Therefore, you should refine it, either
by adding more scope to the search or adding more
terms, respectively.
Limiting a search means narrowing the search down.
All of the above imho, of course...
-- Janice
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