The Query Tool

The Query Tool is used for retrieving quotations using the codes they were associated with during the process of coding. The simplest retrieval of this kind - search for quotations with codes- is what you frequently do by double-clicking ona Code in the Code Manager or a code browser. See Retrieving Coded Data. This may already be regarded as a query, although it is a simple one. The Query Tool is more complex in that it can be used to create and process queries that include a variety of combinations of codes.

A query is a search expression built from operands (codes and code groups) and operators (Boolean, proximity or semantic operators) that define the conditions that a quotation must meet to be retrieved, for example "All quotations coded with both codes A and B".

You can also use the Quotation Manager to build queries. The Quotation Manager, in addition to code queries, also allows you to set further filters like only including quotations that contain a certain word.

A query can be built incrementally which is instantaneously evaluated and displayed as a list of quotations. This incremental building of complex search queries gives you an exploratory approach toward even the most complex queries.

Query Tool Operators To open the Query Tool:

From the main menu, select Analysis > Query Tool. When the query tool opens, the first code from your code list is selected.
Query Tool

In the grey section at the top of the window, you build the query.

  • You can select codes and code groups and combine them with Boolean, proximity or semantic operators.

  • You can restrict the search to documents or document groups, or a combination using Boolean operators.

See the following pages for:

Remember the results of a query in the query tool are always quotations.