Why are keyword search result counts different, in the API, FirstSearch, and WorldCat.org?
There are a couple of reasons for this. WorldCat.org includes article citation and digital materials descriptions that are not searched in the API or FirstSearch interfaces to the WorldCat database, so its results tend to be larger. The keyword index in WorldCat.org currently has a more extensive scope than that in the API and FirstSearch. We’re looking into whether the API keyword index should be changed to match the scope of WorldCat.org. The API and FirstSearch results tend to be closer in number, but the API result counts will often be somewhat lower because the results are organized to group items with the same authors and titles together, rather than in individual bibliographic records.
Related Questions
- Why do I see a different list of libraries attached to a WorldCat record when I am in the library than when I search WorldCat.org from my home or office?
- Why is it that the same WorldCat search performed on WorldCat.org and then on FirstSearch produces different results?
- Why are search results different when searching on the API versus searching on the RadioTime site?
