Report:Delphion/Viewing Results/The Hit List

The Hit List

After any patent search, the results are first viewed in a hit list display. In Delphion, users can only review up to 500 hits resulting from a specific query; however, up to 20,000 records may be exported into a work file for further review. (For more information on work files, see the Saving Results section).

Delphion’s hit list is first displayed under the “Current Results” tab. The other tabs that appear at the top of the page are the PDF Express, Data Extract, Snapshot, Clustering, and File Histories, and these are used for document ordering or data extract & analysis. The hit list can be viewed under any of these tabs; Delphion’s user interface functionality is designed to keep these core references in the same display format no matter which tab is selected/active.

(For more information on Data Extract, PDF Express, or File Histories, see Download and Export Functions. And for more information on Snapshot and Clustering tools, see Analyzing Results.)

The “Current Results” tab actually functions as a small search form, allowing users to refine their query from the hit list page, if they determine the results are unsatisfactory. The tab displays the current query; if the user wishes to refine the search, they may edit the query, select collections and date range, and run a new search, all from this interface.

The Current Results tab.

Underneath this tab, the results for the original query are shown. Display options for the hit list cannot be pre-set, but can be edited from the gray box at the bottom of the page to include any of the following options:

Thumbnail (Image)

(Original) Title

Derwent Title (free to display)

Abstract

Assignee

Publication Date

Filing Date

Priority Date

IPC Code

(Relevancy) Score

Sort By (dropdown menu): (Relevancy) Score, Pub. Number, Title, Assignee, Pub. Date, Filed, Priority Date, IPC Code

Items per Page: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500

Display options for the hit list.

These data are displayed in separate columns within the hit list. Once display options are set, the hit list can also be sorted by any one of these values, in ascending or descending order, simply by clicking the heading. Users may notice that the Derwent Title is part of the display option, even for searches that are conducted within non-Derwent files. Because Delphion hosts the Derwent data as well as the full text patent office data, users may display the Derwent titles for free.

Editor's Note:

One major advantage to viewing hit lists in Delphion is that Derwent titles can be displayed for these records for no extra charge. Although accessing an entire Derwent record (or exporting the data) will cost extra, the title display is a free option that benefits even users who do not wish to use Delphion for its Derwent World Patents Index search capabilities. Derwent titles have been re-written by technical writers to make the content of the document more evident than it might appear in the conventional title.

The major disadvantage of Delphion’s record viewing capabilities is the 500 record limit. This is an arbitrary limitation; none of the system’s major competitors enforce such a limit. No matter how many records are displayed per page, the total number of records a user can see on any given search is 500. This may be a sign that Delphion believes that its users will not rely on the web interface to perform in-depth text reviews on large numbers of documents, and will instead use the service to export data for automated analysis of large results sets. One workaround for this limitation is to assign the results (up to 20,000) to a workfile, wherein the 500 record limit is not in effect.

One useful feature is the ability to control which data fields are shown on the hit list display directly from the page itself. Some competitors force users to pre-define custom display formats, or else choose from a variety of system formats, whereas Delphion offers more flexibility straight from the hit list page.