Summary

Use the Summary tool (formerly the Gist tool) to get a glimpse into the major terms and topics of the documents in the dataset.  You can use Summary to help you formulate Queries based on the summary terms and to create groups and outliers from the results.  The Summary window opens and displays a ranked list of the strongest topics at the point where the Probe tool was clicked. From the histograms, you can gain a general understanding of the most important terms in the dataset, and where documents strongest in these terms are clustered.

If the Summary Window is empty, you have selected an area in the background at some distance from any document dots. Select an area of the Galaxy close to document dots, or in the ThemeView, closer to peaks.

Using the Summary Tool to Summarize a Set of Documents

When you select the Summary tool, it will “get the gist” of all documents that are selected in the Galaxy and display a list of words and the number of documents they are found in, ordered by frequency. If you do not have any documents selected, the Summary window will be blank of any terms.  To summarize documents, perform the following procedure.

1. Select and open a dataset.  The dataset will display in the Galaxy window.  

2. Using the selection tool , select a group of documents in the Galaxy.  For more information, see Ways to Select Documents.

3. Click the Summary icon or from the Galaxy window Tools menu, select Summary.  The Summary window will display a list of terms and their level of contribution to the selected group.  
   

4. To summarize another set of documents, select a new group of documents in the Galaxy.

5. On the Summary window, click Summarize.  The new summary of terms will display.

6. To see helpful information about a part of the Summary window, hover the cursor over it. Information will display in balloon Help by the cursor.

Sorting Summary Results

To sort results alphabetically or numerically

• To sort items in ascending order, click on the column header.  The sort order is indicated by the small up arrow preceding the column title.  

• To sort in descending order, click on the column header again.  The sort order is indicated by the small down arrow preceding the column title.

Constructing a Word Query Using Words from the Summary Term List

1. Select the word(s) you want to use in your query from the Summary Term list.  Use Shift-click to select a group of contiguous words, or Ctrl-click to select non-contiguous words.  
   
   The selected terms will display in the term pane below the summary table.  A note concerning the contribution of the selected terms will display under the term pane.

2. Click Word Query or right-click over a selected term and select Word Query from the drop-down menu.  The Query window will display with a word query prepared from your selected terms.
   

3. In the Query window, click Query to run a query on the terms.  

Constructing a Query by Example Using Words from the Summary Term List

1. Select the word(s) you want to use in your query from the Summary Term list.  Use Shift-click to select a group of contiguous words, or Ctrl-click to select non-contiguous words.  
   The selected terms will display in the term pane below the summary table.  A note concerning the contribution of the selected terms will display under the term pane.

2. Right-click over a selected term and select Query by Example from the drop-down menu.  
   
   The Query window will display with a query by example prepared from your selected terms.
   

3. In the Query window, click Query to run a query by example on the terms.  

Creating Outlier Terms

1. Using the Probe Tool, select an area of the Galaxy which seems to contain outlier documents.  The selected terms will display in the Summary window.
   Note:  The Probe Tool does not work in the Outlier panel.

2. From the Summary window, click on the terms to select them.  See Selecting several items from a list.
   
   At the bottom of the Summary window, a statement will display telling you what percent the term contributes to the summary.
   

3. Click the Make Outliers button. The contribution of the selected terms will be removed, giving greater weight to the terms left in the list.  The dataset is reprocessed, excluding the outlier terms from being used as major terms in the calculation.  This can be extremely helpful for creating groups weighted for terms of interest, rather than terms which are common and not of interest.  

You can also use the Major Terms tool in a similar manner. See Major Terms.