Featured Resource: Intellogist
Posted on Tue, Jul 12, 2011
This week, Article One profiles one of the most thorough and detailed resources available – Intellogist. Unlike many of the other resources featured in this blog, Intellogist is not a search engine. Instead, it is more like a database of search engines, compiling the very best patent search systems and providing information on the strengths (and sometimes weaknesses) of each system.
Intellogist Reports
Intellogist currently has profiled 37 different online resources in their “Intellogist Reports.” For each search system, they do an in-depth analysis of the features of the database. Each system is profiled by an expert in the appropriate field – meaning that if the database specializes in computer science literature, the assigned Intellogist editor will have specific expertise in computer science. Besides assembling the facts and other objective information about the database, the editor also discusses some of the more subjective facets of the system. This can be some of the most useful information for a prospective user, as they get an expert’s view on some important issues, such as usability, security, and customer support. Most of the resources deemed strong enough to warrant a report generally score well in these departments, but it is still useful to consider a detailed study of the system’s particular strengths or weaknesses.
Intellogist consistently adds new patent search systems to their report page. For databases which have not had a full report yet, there are community run pages. While these are not nearly as in-depth as the official reports, they do provide a brief overview. This provides a wider range of experiences with the systems, as well as providing the Intellogist staff with a good idea of which search engines are commonly used and should be profiled next.
Best Practices
Intellogist also does a fantastic job educating researchers. It has an extensive set of pages titled "Best Practices". These pages are community edited and maintained, and contain many tips and strategies for researchers, from those just beginning the research process to those looking for specialized techniques for searching in a complicated field. These reports not only have advice, but also include examples of the methods they outline, giving concrete illustrations of how the method actually functions. Most of the community contributors are experienced patent researchers who take the time to share their knowledge to others.
Intellogist is simply one of the top places on the internet to find patent search systems. It is a professional and organized site with more than enough information to help researchers make educated decisions about their searching habits. And of course, while some of the databases they feature do require subscriptions, all of the information found on the Intellogist site can be accessed for free.
Visit Intellogist to learn more and find your next search resource!