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

297 Pages·2015·6.45 MB·English

by  Suzanne S Bell

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Copyright © 2015 by Suzanne S. Bell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission
in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bell, Suzanne S.
Librarian’s guide to online searching : cultivating database skills for research and instruction / Suzanne S. Bell. — Fourth edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-1-61069-998-3 (pbk : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61069-999-0 (ebook) 1. Database searching. 2. Electronic information resource
searching. I. Title.
ZA4460.B45 2015
025.04—dc23 2014038457
ISBN: 978-1-61069-998-3
EISBN: 978-1-61069-999-0
19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook.
Visit www.abc-clio.com for details.
Libraries Unlimited
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
ABC-CLIO, LLC
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
This book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
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To my grandfather, Augustus Hunt Shearer, librarian and teacher, and my father, Vern Coventry Bell,
inventor and engineer. You may not have understood this book, but you would have appreciated it.
Thank you both for the gifts that made it possible.
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Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1: INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY DATABASES
What Is a Database?
Is Google a Database?
Historical Background
Indexing and Abstracting Services
From Printed Volumes to Databases
The Library Database Industry Today
Discovery Services
2: DATABASE STRUCTURE FOR EVERYONE: RECORDS, FIELDS, AND INDEXES
Database Building Blocks
Fields, Records, and Tables
Quick Recap
Beyond Fields and Records
Field Indexes
Quick Recap
Examples of Indexes in Common Databases
Exercises and Points to Consider
3: THE SEARCHER’S TOOLKIT: PART 1
The First Basic Tools
Basic Tool No. 1: Boolean Logic
Quick Recap
Basic Tool No. 2: Controlled Vocabulary
Basic Tool No. 3: Field Searching
Terms in the Searching Lexicon
Quick Recap
Applying the Tools
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MasterFILE Premier: Notes and Search Examples
Exercises and Points to Consider
4: THE SEARCHER’S TOOLKIT: PART 2
Completing the Toolkit: Basic Tools 4–7
Basic Tool No. 4: Proximity Searching
Basic Tool No. 5: Truncation
Quick Recap
Basic Tool No. 6: Limits to Constrain Your Search
Basic Tool No. 7: “Learning from Your Results,” A Useful Search Strategy
Quick Recap
Your Mental Toolkit
Summary and Advice
Exercises and Points to Consider
Suggested Reading
5: SOCIAL SCIENCE DATABASES
Introduction to Subject Databases
Library Literature & Information Science
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
Quick Recap
ERIC on the Web
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
Quick Recap
PsycINFO from Ovid
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
Working with Results
Additional Feature: The PsycINFO Thesaurus
Quick Recap
Additional Resources for Social Science
Exercises and Points to Consider
Beyond the Textbook Exercises—see Student Resources site
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6: DATABASES FOR SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
PubMed and MEDLINE
PubMed: More than MEDLINE
Introduction to the PubMed Interface
Notes and Search Examples
Output in PubMed
Quick Recap
Additional Resources for Medicine
The Web of Science and the Citation Indexes
Citations and the Academic Researcher
An Index Focused on Citations
Additional Differences in Fields Available
Web of Science Coverage
Searching the Web of Science: Main Search Interface
Cited Reference Searching
Email, Print, Save, or Export Results
Advanced Features: Advanced Search and Analyze
Quick Recap
Additional Resources for Science
Exercises and Points to Consider
Beyond the Textbook Exercises—see Student Resources site
7: BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASES
WorldCat: The “OPAC of OPACs”
Background and Coverage
A Tool for Many Parts of the Library
Notes and Search Examples
Quick Recap
WorldCat.org
Brief Background
Notes and Search Examples
Quick Recap
Revisiting Your Local OPAC
Exercises and Points to Consider
Beyond the Textbook Exercises—see Student Resources site
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8: HUMANITIES DATABASES
America: History and Life
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
The Folder: Outputting Results
Special Feature: CLIO Notes
Quick Recap
MLA International Bibliography
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
The Marked List and Output
Additional Feature: Directory of Periodicals
Quick Recap
Additional Resources for Humanities
Exercises and Points to Consider
Beyond the Textbook Exercises—see Student Resources site
9: NUMERICAL DATABASES
Finding Numbers
Concepts about Numbers
Quick Recap
A Comment about Searching for Numbers
Statistical Insight from ProQuest
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
Outputting Records
Quick Recap
American FactFinder
Background and Coverage
Notes and Search Examples
Quick Recap
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Pay & Benefits at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupation Information at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Quick Recap
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Additional Resources for Statistics
Numbers and the Reference Interview
Exercises and Points to Consider
Beyond the Textbook Exercises—see Student Resources site
Suggested Readings
10: FOCUS ON PEOPLE
Part 1: Information Seeking Behavior
Some Theoretical Background on Information Seeking
Applied Research on Information Seeking Behavior
Information Seeking in the Internet Era
Quick Recap
Part 2: The Reference Interview
Essential Components of the Reference Interview
Interpersonal Communication Skills in the Reference Interview
Beyond the Face-to-Face Reference Interview
Why Is the Reference Interview So Important?
Quick Recap
Exercises and Points to Consider
Suggested Readings
11: CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESOURCE FOR THE QUESTION
Start with the Reference Interview
Questions for Databases
Why and When to Try a Database
Quick Recap
Choosing a Database
Google Scholar
Quick Recap
Questions for the Web
Personal Uses of the Web
Professional Uses of the Web
Quick Recap
Exercises and Points to Consider
Suggested Readings
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