The Universal Knowledge System (UKS) is the Perspective Research Centre framework for organising, selecting, searching, viewing and comparing knowledge across collections of books, papers, articles and other documents.
Its purpose is not simply to locate documents or return isolated search results. The UKS allows a researcher to begin with a broad Library, define a particular body of material relevant to an enquiry, search that material in different ways, preserve several independent searches, and then examine relevant source material in its wider context.
The current UKS conceptual model
UKS → Library → Collection(s) → Content Unit(s) → Search Target → Target Context → Search Context → Search Process → Search Matches → Search Results → Content View(s) → View Context → Context Window(s) → Multi-Context exploration
This is the conceptual spine of the search-centred UKS model. The current implementation also supports a direct no-Search route at Collection level: Publications can be selected and opened in Multi-Content Views without creating a Search Context or running a Search Process.
The Library of Perspective is the principal PRC implementation of the UKS. It contains multiple Library Collections, each representing a coherent body of publications, such as a general library, historical collection, archive, project collection or other organised body of material.
Collections contain Content Units. In the present PRC implementation these are principally Publications, including books, papers, articles, chapters, reports, presentations and other documents.
A researcher may work with one Collection, several Collections together, or all available Collections.
Building a Search Target
A central principle of the UKS is that the researcher first establishes the body of material within which a search will operate. This is called the Search Target.
The process begins on the Library of Perspective screen by selecting one, several or all Library Collections. The selected material can then be refined using:
- Record Type / Form
- Subject Collections
- Topic / Project Collections
These selections determine which Publications become part of the Search Target.
Define the material first; then search within it.
How refinements work
The current UKS combines the principal refinement groups according to the following logic:
Collection(s) AND Record Type / Form AND (Subject OR Topic / Project)
Several selections within the same refinement group operate as alternatives. If a refinement group contains no selections, that group places no additional restriction on the Search Target.
The result is a progressively defined set of Publications rather than an unrestricted search across the whole Library.
On the Library Search screen, Collection Scope can continue to be changed. Type / Form, Subject and Topic / Project refinements can also be adjusted there.
Search Target and Target Context
The Search Target is the actual set of Content Units — principally Publications — currently available to the search process.
The Target Context describes how that Search Target has been established. It records the surrounding conditions of the target, including the selected Library Collection or Collections and the refinements that have been applied.
This distinction allows the UKS to retain both the material being searched and the organisational conditions through which that material was selected.
Two ways to examine Library material
Once relevant Publications have been identified, the current UKS provides two principal routes for working with them.
The first is the Library Search route, in which the researcher searches the current Search Target and works with Search Results, Search Matches and Search Contexts.
The second is a direct viewing route without Search. Publications can be selected at Collection level and opened directly in Multi-Content Views without creating a Search Context.
This makes it possible to browse, select and compare source material directly when a search is unnecessary, while retaining the full Library Search workflow when detailed searching is required. The current no-Search actions are Open Multi-Content Views (no Search) and, when Publications have been selected, View N selected Publications (no Search).
Library Search
Once a Search Target has been established, the researcher can proceed to Library Search.
The Library Search screen is organised into four principal stages:
- Search Target
- Search Options
- Search Content
- Search Results
The Search Target remains visible at the top of the page so that the researcher can see which Library Collection or Collections are being searched and how many Publications are currently included.
Search Options
Search Options provide optional publication-level filters that can further narrow the current Search Target before a content search is performed.
They currently include:
- Author
- Title
- Date range
- Publication Type
These options may be used individually or together.
They do not redefine the underlying Library Collection structure. They narrow the Publications considered by a particular Search Process.
Search Content
Search Content determines what is to be searched within the current Search Target.
The researcher can search:
- All Content
- Title
- Author
- Year
Search terms can be matched as:
- Exact phrase
- All words
- Any word
All Content searches indexed document text together with publication metadata including Title, Author and Year.
Search Content may also be left blank. In that case, pressing Search Library returns the Publications satisfying the current Search Target and any Search Options already applied. This is still a Search operation and creates a Search Context; it is not the same as the direct no-Search route from Collection level.
Search Context
Each new search creates an independent Search Context.
A Search Context preserves the particular combination of Search Target, Search Options and Search Content used for that enquiry.
Several Search Contexts can therefore coexist — for example Search A, Search B and Search C — without one search destroying the previous one.
Different Search Contexts may use different search terms, different Search Options and, where appropriate, different Library Collection scopes.
This makes it possible to investigate several related questions in parallel rather than repeatedly replacing one search with another.
Search Process, Search Matches and Search Results
The Search Process applies the selected search instructions to the current Search Target.
Where content searching is used, the system identifies relevant Search Matches within the indexed source material.
Those matches are then organised into Search Results, principally by Publication.
The distinction is important:
- Search Process is the operation being performed.
- Search Matches are the individual occurrences found.
- Search Results organise those findings into usable publication-level results.
Searching or sorting results does not silently expand the enquiry beyond the defined Search Target.
Search Results and source material
The UKS is designed to preserve the connection between a Search Match and the original Publication in which it occurs.
A Search Result is therefore not treated merely as an isolated fragment. The researcher can move from the result to relevant source material and inspect the wider publication context surrounding it.
This relationship between a search finding and its original source is fundamental to the UKS.
Content Views and View Context
Opening selected source material creates a Content View. In the current interface, selected Publications are brought together through Multi-Content Views, from which their source contexts can be examined in Context Windows.
The surrounding View Context preserves the relationship between that view and the Search Context, Search Result or Publication from which it was opened.
The researcher can therefore move beyond the immediate Search Match and examine neighbouring pages, passages and other relevant material without losing the connection to the enquiry that produced the view.
Context Windows
Selected source material can be opened in Context Windows for direct examination.
A Context Window provides access to the wider source rather than restricting the researcher to a short search snippet.
When a Publication is opened from a Search Result, the researcher can begin with relevant matching material and then move through the surrounding Publication in context.
Publications selected directly from a Collection can also be opened through Multi-Content Views and examined in Context Windows without first performing a Search.
Multi-Context exploration
Multiple Context Windows can be used together. The current implementation allows up to nine Publications to be opened simultaneously for Multi-Context examination.
This allows Publications, pages, passages and ideas drawn from different Search Contexts, different Search Results or directly selected sources to be examined side by side.
This provides the Multi-Context dimension of the UKS: research is no longer restricted to a single linear list of Search Results.
A researcher can conduct several searches, select relevant results from each, bring those source contexts together for direct comparison and exploration, or open selected Publications directly without carrying out a Search.
Returning through the system
The UKS is designed so that movement between stages does not unnecessarily destroy the research state already established.
A researcher can move from the Library of Perspective to Library Search, create several Search Contexts, open source material in Context Windows, and return to the Library Search workspace while retaining the relevant search state.
The active Search Context, Results List, selected Publications and related working state can therefore remain available when moving between searching and source examination.
This supports an iterative research process:
define a Search Target → search → inspect results → open sources → compare contexts → return → refine or create another search → continue.
Organisation and classification
The UKS is an extensible knowledge environment rather than a single fixed catalogue structure.
Library Collections provide a major level of organisation, while additional classifications describe Publications by characteristics such as Record Type / Form, Subject and Topic / Project.
A Publication may therefore participate in several useful organisational relationships without being duplicated as a separate Publication record.
The broader UKS architecture is intended to support progressively richer forms of classification, indexing, relationship building and knowledge organisation as the system develops.
Public workflow and design language
Users do not need to learn the complete internal design vocabulary of the UKS in order to use the system.
The principal search workflow is:
Choose Library Collection(s) → apply refinements → establish a Search Target → Library Search → set Search Options → enter Search Content or leave it blank → create Search Context(s) → examine Search Results → select Publications → open Multi-Content Views → examine Context Windows.
Where searching is unnecessary, the direct route is:
Select Publications at Collection level → Open Multi-Content Views (no Search) / View N selected Publications (no Search) → examine Context Windows.
Terms such as Content Unit, Search Target, Target Context, Search Context and View Context describe the deeper UKS design model and explain how the different stages of the system relate to one another.
Current status
The UKS is now operating as a working PRC Library and research system rather than simply as an experimental search prototype.
The current implementation supports multiple Library Collections; selection of one, several or all Collections; Record Type / Form, Subject and Topic / Project refinement; construction of a Search Target; publication-level Search Options; full-text and metadata searching; persistent independent Search Contexts; Search Matches and publication-level Search Results; direct no-Search selection at Collection level; Multi-Content Views; Context Windows; and Multi-Context comparison of up to nine Publications.
The architecture remains extensible. Additional Collections, Publications, classifications, relationships and specialist document types can be incorporated without changing the fundamental workflow of defining a Search Target and then investigating that material through searches and source contexts.
For practical instructions, see How to Use the UKS →