Evaluation of CA Search is made from the stand point of patent information retrieval. CA Search file is compared with Central Patent Index (CPI) file, which is specialized in patent information. After briefing characteristics of both files, three approaches of IR, i. e., references, subjects, and patent concordances, are examined. Subject approach is viewed in considering patent types(substances, processes, uses, etc.), and width and depth of indexing. As a result , it was found that both CA and CPI have respective characteristics. As CA Search depends on systems such as JOIS, DIALOG and ORBIT, system characteristics are to be taken into consideration. An overall evaluation of such databases is not easy and more data is necessary. Several search examples may suggest some tendencies.
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