Librarian's Guide to Online Searching: Cultivating Database Skills for Research and Instruction

by Christopher C. Brown

Overview

Updates the premier textbook for students and librarians needing to know the landscape of current databases and how to search them.

Librarians need to know of existing databases, and they must be able to teach search capabilities and strategies to library users. This practical guide introduces librarians to a broad spectrum of fee-based and freely available databases and explains how to teach them.

The updated 6th edition of this well-regarded text covers new databases on the market as well as updates to older databases. It also explains underlying information structures and demonstrates how to search most effectively. It introduces readers to several recent changes, such as the move away from metadata-based indexing to full text indexing by vendors covering newspaper content. Business databases receive greater emphasis.

As in the previous editions, this book takes a real-world approach, covering topics from basic and advanced search tools to online subject databases. Each chapter includes a thorough discussion, a recap, concrete examples, exercises, and points to consider, making it an ideal text for courses in database searching as well as a trustworthy professional resource.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440878237
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/18/2021
Edition description:	6th Revised ed.
Pages:	392
Sales rank:	494,881
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.95(h) x 0.95(d)

About the Author

Christopher C. Brown, professor, is reference librarian and coordinator of government documents at the University of Denver, Main Library.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1: INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY DATABASES
A Brief History of Information Access before Databases
Progression from Citation-Only Resources to Full Text
Physical Analogs
Databases and Their Scope
Where to Find Scope Information about a Database
Scope: Dates of Coverage
Scope: Materials Indexed
Scope: Availability of Peer-Reviewed Content
Scope: Countries and Languages Covered
Scope: Breadth and Depth of Coverage
Exercises
References
Suggested Reading
2: HOW DATABASES WORK
Standards within Librarianship
Field, Records, and Tables
Exploring Field Code Consistency
Variable-Length Fields
Fixed Fields
Online-Database Indexing
Database Updating
When Databases Fail
Incomplete Data Loads
Incomplete or Corrupt Indexing
General Downtime
Defaults
What Are Keywords Anyway?
Control Numbers
Suite of Technologies
Proxy Services
Permalinks
Originating URLs and Resultant URLs
OpenURLs
Exercises
References
3: CONTROLLED VOCABULARIES
Why Control?
Kinds of Control
Two Types of Subjects: Headings versus Descriptors
Subject Headings
Subject Descriptors
Databases with Thesauri
Other Kinds of Authority Control
Databases with Back-Generated Indexes
EBSCO
ProQuest
Gale
Exercises
References
Suggested Readings
Beyond the Textbook
4: THE SEARCHER'S TOOLKIT: PART 1
What Searching Is All About
Basic Tool No. 1: Boolean Logic
AND: The Narrowing Boolean Operator
OR: The Broadening Boolean Operator
NOT: The Negating Boolean Operator
Combining Boolean Operators in Practice
Nesting and Parentheses
Human Language versus Boolean Operators
Basic Tool No. 2: Controlled Vocabularies
When Do We Need Controlled Vocabularies?
Cautions When Using Controlled Vocabularies
Not All Controlled Vocabularies Are Created Equal
Basic Tool No. 3: Field Searching
Default Fields
Field-Searching Strategies
Combining Field Searching with Controlled Vocabulary Searching
Read the Documentation
When Field Searching Goes Away
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
5: THE SEARCHER'S TOOLKIT: PART 2
Basic Tool No. 4: Proximity Searching
Why We Need Proximity Searching
Proximity Operators
Phrase Searching
Basic Tool No. 5: Truncation and Wildcards
Truncation
Wildcards
Review of Tools 4 and 5
Basic Tool No. 6: Limits to Constrain Searches
Silos and Limits
Limits before Submitting Searches
Limits after Results Are Presented
Basic Tool No. 7: Learning from Results
Terms in the Searching Lexicon
False Drops
Stop Words
Recall versus Precision
Testing a Database
Exercises
References
6: DATABASE INTERFACES: VENDOR FEATURES AND VARIATIONS
Publisher versus Aggregator Databases
Databases Available from Multiple Sources
Aggregator Interfaces
EBSCOhost Interface
ProQuest Interface
Gale Interface
Publisher Interfaces
Common (or Sometimes Not-So-Common) Database Features
Backlinking
Citation Generation and Exporting
Citation Tracking
Command Search
Cross-Searching Databases
Email Alerts
Full-Text Searching
Fuzzy Searches
Handwriting Recognition
HTML versus PDF Files
Limit Articles by Length
Limiters/Facets
Natural-Language Searching
Personal Accounts
Phrase Searching
RSS Feeds
Search History
Visualization
Browsing for Content
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
7: SOCIAL SCIENCE DATABASES
Library and Information Science
Library Literature Thesaurus
Search Example 1: Identifying Terms Using the Library Literature Thesaurus
Search Example 2: A Lesson in Problem Solving
Education
ERIC Thesaurus
ERIC Results
Other Education Databases
Psychology
Physical Analogs to Database
Age Groups
Other Special Search Fields
Search Examples
Combining Search History Sets
Sociology
A Cross-Discipline Controlled-Vocabulary Exercise
ERIC Thesaurus
PsycINFO Thesaurus
Sociological Abstracts Thesaurus
ERIC Search
PsycINFO Search
Sociological Abstracts Search
Another Approach: Google Scholar
Business
General Business Databases
Business Directories
Industry Databases
Market Research Data
Additional Resources for Social Science
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
8: GOVERNMENT INFORMATION DATABASES
Freely Available U.S. Government Information Portals
: The GPO's Portal
: The Library of Congress's Portal
Catalog of Government Publications (CGP): The GPO's Online Catalog and : Tools of the Census Bureau
Other Full-Text Sources for Government Information
Vendor Databases for U.S. Government Information
U.S. Congressional Publications
U.S. Executive Branch Publications
U.S. Judicial Branch Publications
A Note about the Federal Depository Library Program
International Publications
Official Document System (ODS)
United Nations Digital Library
United Nations iLibrary
United Nations Treaty Collection
Other International Databases
Foreign Government Publications
Top-Level Domains (TLDs)
Foreign Government Subdomains
Substantive Foreign Government Publications
Exercises
References
Suggested Reading
Beyond the Textbook
9: HUMANITIES DATABASES
Literature Databases—MLA International Bibliography
MLAIB Distinctive Features
Searching MLAIB
Search Example: Looking for Peer-Reviewed Articles Analyzing Death in Chinese Literature
Dissertations in MLAIB
MLA Thesaurus and Names as Subjects Index
Browsing Indexes
MLA Directory of Periodicals
History Databases—America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts
Distinctive Features of AHL and HA
Search Example 1: Finding Book Reviews
Search Example 2: Finding Material about a Topic in a Particular Period
Search Example 3: Searching Cited References
Historical Newspaper Databases
Searching Newspaper Content
Search Example 1: Japanese Americans during World War II
Search Example 2: Sand Creek Massacre
Search Example 3: Psychiatric Hospitals in Eighteenth-Century England
Vendor Database Coverage Dates
Free Newspaper Databases
E-books and the Humanities
From Microform to E-books
Handwritten Text Recognition
Archival Primary-Source Databases
Nontextual Databases—Images, Sounds, and Video
Image Databases
Streaming Audio and Video Databases
Additional Resources for Humanities
Exercises
Reference
Beyond the Textbook
10: SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICAL DATABASES
SciFindern
Web of Science and Other Citation Indexes
The Scope of ISI's Citation Indexes
Source Document
Cited References: Tracing Research Back in Time
Citations to an Author: Tracing Research Forward in Time
Book Reviews to Academic Books: A Hidden Benefit
Other Citation Databases
Scopus
Google Scholar
Citation Tracking in Other Databases
Jourbanal Citation Reports
Alternative Metrics
Engineering Databases
What Engineers Do
Analysis of Selected Engineering Databases
PubMed and Medline
MeSH: Medical Subject Headings
Searching PubMed
Search Example 1: Topic Search
Search Example 2: Field Code Searching
Getting the Full Text
MedlinePlus and PubMed Central
Other Science, Engineering, and Medical Databases
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
11: NUMERICAL AND STATISTICAL DATABASES
Kinds of Numbers
Who Collects Numbers?
Searching for Numbers as Opposed to Text
Basic Statistical Starting Strategies
"Who Cares?" Tool 1: Google Web
"Who Cares?" Tool 2: ProQuest Statistical Insight
"Who Cares?" Tool 3: ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States
"Who Cares?" Tool 4: Identifying the Players—National and International Agencies
"Who Cares?" Tool 5: Do a Literature Search
Putting the Tools to Work
Diving into Statistical Databases

Social Explorer
Historical Statistics of the United States
Statista
DataPlanet
Additional Statistical Mapping Databases
PolicyMap
SimplyAnalytics
UNdata
UN Comtrade Database
Additional Statistical Databases, Fee and Free
Big Data
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
12: FROM BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES TO FULL-TEXT E-BOOKS
WorldCat
WorldCat as a Reference Tool
WorldCat for Citation Verification
WorldCat and Foreign-Language Searching
WorldCat Search Examples
Search Example 1: Finding Materials in Other Languages
Search Example 2: Finding Materials for a Specific Audience
Search Example 3: Finding Materials by Genre

Search Examples
Search Example 1: A Known Item Search
Search Example 2: Using WorldCat.org from within Google Books
Search Example 3: Finding Musical Scores
Local Library Catalogs: Current Trends
Google Books and Local Library Catalogs
The Weakest Link
Information Access Anomaly
Enter Google Books
Library Catalog: Not the Best Discovery Tool
HathiTrust
Differences between E-jourbanals and E-books
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
13: WEB-SCALE DISCOVERY DATABASES
Federated Searching in Libraries
The "Clinic" Put On by Google
The Google Age
Discovery Tools Come on the Scene
The Unevenness of the Search
Putting Discovery Tools to the Test
Testing Summon
Testing Primo
Testing the Merging of Summon and Primo into the Central Discovery Index
Testing EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)
Testing WorldCat Discovery
Discipline-Specific Databases versus Discovery Tools versus Google Scholar
The Despair of Depth
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
14: USER BEHAVIORS AND MEETING INFORMATION NEEDS
Users and Their Behaviors
Information-Seeking Behaviors
Personal Observations of Library Users
Reference Resources
The Reference Interview
Determining the Real Question
Match the Resource to the Question
Dismissiveness
Virtual Reference: Email and Chat
Search Strategies
Thinking like an Indexer versus Thinking like a Text
Format-Independent Thinking
Have a Brainstorming Session with Yourself
Modes of Searching: Keyword, Controlled Vocabulary, Citations, Full Text
When to Prefer Keyword Searching
Make Databases "Your Own"
A New Way to Brainstorm Keywords
Going beyond Databases: Using Database Output for Citation Management
Client-Based versus Cloud-Based Software
Word Processor Integration
Exercises
References
Beyond the Textbook
15: EVALUATING DATABASES
Why Evaluate?
Evaluate for Subscription or Purchase
Evaluate for Replacement
Evaluate for Budget Cuts
Evaluation Considerations
Scope and Coverage
User Interface and User Experience
Subscription Model: Rental or Ownership
Relative Cost (Value)
Cross-Database Functions
Peer Institution Holdings
Aggregators and Disappearing Content
Tools for Evaluation
Perform Your Own Tests
Ulrichsweb
Vendor Database Coverage Tools
Comparison Tools
Charleston Advisor
Setting Up a Trial
Help from Beyond
Usage Statistics
Exercises
References
16: TEACHING OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT DATABASES
The Role of Teaching
Teaching Databases to Groups
One-Shot Instruction
Embedded Instruction
Teaching Databases in the Classroom
Teaching Databases to Individuals
Individual Consultations
Teaching Databases during Consultations
Remote Consultations
Teaching Databases over Email
Teaching Databases with Library Guides
Database Teaching Tips
Exercises
References
Glossary
Index