Epi-Search is a conceptual search tool that out performs traditional searching algorithms because it is able to make use of concepts that are fully expressed in other documents.

Epi-search takes queries of 50 to 10,000 words and performs several functions: 1) a “find more like this” search identifies contextually related documents from the ISCE.edu library, 2) displays key concepts and terms from the query and presents them in word clouds, and 3) transforms extracted terms and concepts into “enhanced queries” that are sent directly into more than a dozen third-party online databases.

Epi-search can play a key role in research where the use of whole paragraphs of text is more effective at finding contextually relevant material than the use of simple keywords and tags.

Your students will benefit from knowing about and using this FREE tool.

Use Cases:

1) Organizing thoughts for further reading

Students can take free form notes and submit them as a whole to Epi-Search. The site then recommends further reading material and associated concepts and keywords.

2) Discovering unexpected sources

Students can take their current draft of a paper and use it as a query to discover other reference sources which they should be citing.

3) Exploring related areas of inquiry

Students can take their current draft of notes or a paper and use it as a query to discover other materials related to their draft all based on “find-more-like-this.”

Epi-Search is like giving each student their own personal reference librarian to help them do research.

And did I mention it is FREE?

Try http://epi-search.com and recommend it to your students

They will thank you

(ISCE.edu does offer more than just the WE-CONSENT™ and the Anti-Bullying projects).

Thanks for your time and interest.

Michael Lissack
Executive Director
The Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence (ISCE.edu)
14 Stratford Rd Marblehead MA 01945 617-710-9565