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DATABASE / SEARCH ENGINE COMPARISONS:
- A newspaper (or journal or magazine or broadcast) web site
is NOT the same as a full-text, searchable, online archival database.
[Note: web sites and databases vary in access,
content, currency, and cost to users.] Compare
the search engine on Time Magazine's http://www.time.com
web site with Infotrac Web's full-text access http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid
selecting "Ross Perot" as a
search term and selecting Time as the publication search.
- Most, if not all, full-text, searchable, online archival databases
are NOT free to users. [Note: students don't
notice the costs involved because contracts are negotiated with database
vendors by university libraries. BTW, UNC-CH online library system offers over
600 databases in citation,
abstract, and full-text formats.]
- Both databases and web sites are dynamic. They change (sometimes with little
notice to users) in appearance, content, currency, access and cost. [Note:
Durham's The Herald-Sun newspaper and The Chapel Hill
Herald newspaper are no longer on Nexis. Those papers have
migrated their archives to NewsBank in early 2004.
- Good information is not always costly, but frequently it
is. One pays for convenience. Some agencies, corporations, and individuals
hire professional searchers to do sophisticated market research and data
analysis for a fee.
- Databases require more investment than just money. To
become an effective, efficient searcher, one must practice, practice,
practice. Students who spend time and effort to become familiar with basic
and advanced database search protocols will get a better ROI.
- Databases are not as simple to use as web search engines.
Each database seems to have unique search protocols and different data
delivery options. This variability can be
confusing and frustrating.
- Sometimes, it easier, cheaper, and more reliable to use
print reference sources. There is much to be said for dictionaries,
directories, almanacs, and fact books. They need to be updated regularly and
used frequently to be helpful.
- Search engines are more challenging to use effectively than
most student recognize. Make an effort to get acquainted with the advanced
search options on search engines. It's OK to begin a research project using
Google, just don't stop there. Expand your search options to include online
book catalogs and full-text databases.
- No database, search engine, or print reference
resource is completely accurate and trustworthy all the time. Some are
better than others in certain situations. It takes effort and experience to
recognize the shortcomings and develop alternative research methods. There
are no yellow flags or buzzers to alert the searcher to incomplete,
incorrect, or out-of-date information. Good data and bad data look the same
at first glance. [Note: see FACT
CHECKERS.]
- Databases typically do NOT have pop-up ads; neither do they
have, for now, graphics or image data included with text files.
- It is wise, very wise, to read the online help screens
(or tutorials) for databases and web search engines more than once.
- Today, the problem is not enough information. The
problem is too much information. The first corollary to this problem is that few people
(except for librarians and scholars) know where to start a search for
information or data. The second corollary is the never-ending challenging of
filtering incomplete, incorrect, and out-of-date data.
- All information and data can NOT be delivered to
your desktop anywhere, anytime. Sometimes, you have to go to where the
information is located. Reasons? Some materials are rare, some documents are
private, some sources are simply not in digital format. And, we may not
know.
- Identifying biased information is getting harder to do. Some organizations are
becoming more sophisticated, more nuanced in delivering messages in a very subtle yet not
entirely inaccurate way enabled by great-looking web pages. Students should pay close attention to the names - some are
intentionally generic, familiar, and easily confused with other
organizations with opposing views. EXAMPLES:
Employment Policy Foundation
http://www.epf.org/about/aboutus.asp
Employment Policy Institute
http://www.epionline.org/aboutepi.cfm
It might be more accurate to say, XYZ, a think tank that supports wage-based
tax credits over increasing the minimum wage.' This takes up more room of course, but is fairer than just saying 'XYZ, a group opposed to raising the
minimum wage.'
- Finally, be advised that the trend is toward web search
engines becoming more like databases and for databases to become more like
search engines. Why?
DATABASES YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE
YOU GRADUATE
First Level
-
UNC-CH
ONline Catalog [Note: As with most other university online catalog,
UNC-CH's online catalog can be searched from almost any computer in the
world. Campus libraries have more than three hundred staff, and their
combined holdings exceed 5,000,000 volumes, 4,000,000 microforms, 2,000,000
printed government publications, 16,000,000 manuscripts, hundreds of
thousands of audiovisuals, maps and photographs, and thousands of electronic
titles. In terms of subject scope, campus libraries cover most areas of the
fine arts, biomedical and physical sciences, humanities, law, and social
sciences.The databases on eresources cannot be searched remotely unless
searchers have an ONYEN account and access to a proxy server.]
-
WorldCat
(select "W", then scroll down). WorldCat is a union catalog of
more than 39 million records representing the electronic holdings of several
thousand libraries. This database includes bibliographic records for books,
dissertations, journals, audio-visual materials and manuscripts, some
written as early as the 12th century. Note: This database does not include
individual articles, stories in journals, magazines, newspapers, or book
chapters. [Note: this electronic catalog is a good place to discover which
library, other than UNC-CH, has materials you need.]
- InfoTrac
Web (select "I", then scroll down). InfoTrac SearchBank
Indexes provides access to three (3) databases. Many citations include the
full-text of the article. The databases are: General BusinessFile Internat'l,
1982-; Expanded Academic ASAP, 1980-; LegalTrac, 1980. [Note: InfoTrac has
an impressive guide for doing advanced searches. It takes some time,
but it is worth the effort.]
- CQ
Researcher (select "C", then scroll down) The CQ
Researcher is a good place to start for people who need a place to begin
research on current topics. It covers the most current and controversial
issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into all sides of the
issues, bibliographies and more. Users may browse through articles in the
current issue or search for past articles using words, dates or other
criteria (coverage from 1991 -)
- Issues and
Controversies (select "I", then scroll down). Issues and
Controversies is a reference database that contains full text articles on
current topics of interest, arranged in opposing points of view. It is
intended to give the student and other users a quick grasp of the essentials
of more than 250 controversial topics in the news since its debut in
September 1995. It also contains chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables,
sidebars, bibliographies and contact information. [Note: experiment with the
"By the Numbers" hot link as well as the "Subject
Index."]
- NC/LIVE
(select "N", and scroll down). As part of the NCLive service,
EBSCOHost provides access to a variety of databases covering a wide range of
subjects. For complete coverage information, consult the description of the
individual database title. Also available via most academic, public, and
state libraries in North Carolina.
- LexisNexis
Academic [Note: Lexis is the law database; Nexis is the news database.]
(select "L", then scroll down) LexisNexis Academic is a
web-based service that covers general, regional and international news,
company news and financial information, legal information (including law
reviews, case law and legal rulings), and other topics such as biographical
information. Many, but not all, of the files are full-text. Coverage varies
according to publications. Consult the title lists for details.
Next Level
-
TableBase
(select "T", then scroll down) International in scope,
although approximately 66% of the records focus on North America, TableBase
provides summary statistics about companies, industries, products, markets,
and consumer behavior, including rankings, forecasts, market shares, and
product sales. (coverage from 1997 -)
-
ABI/Inform
Global (select "A", then scroll down). ABI/Inform
Global includes in-depth coverage of business conditions, trends, corporate
strategies and tactics, management techniques, competitive and product
information, as well as information on advertising, marketing, economics,
human resources, finance, taxation, computers, and more. It provides
indexing and abstracts to articles from more than 1,000 leading business and
management publications, including over 350 English-language titles from
outside the U.S. [Note: ABI/Inform Global has a thesaurus for users; this
helps with precision searching.]
-
Televisision
News Archive (select "T", then scroll down). The
Television News Archive collection at Vanderbilt University is the world's
most extensive and complete archive of television news. The collection holds
more than 30,000 individual network evening news broadcasts from the major
U.S. national broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN, and more than
9,000 hours of special news-related programming including ABC's Nightline
since 1989. These special reports and periodic news broadcasts cover
presidential press conferences and political campaign coverage, and national
and international events such as the Watergate hearings, the plight of
American hostages in Iran, the Persian Gulf war, and the terrorist attack on
the United States on September 11, 2001. Copies of tapes are available for a
fee; however, patrons associated with educational institutions that
subscribe to the Archive will be able to view online video from the
Archive's collection of CNN material.
-
AccuNet/AP Photo Archive (select
"A", then scroll down). The AccuNet/AP Photo Archive is a
database of approximately 500,000 current and archived photos from the
Associated Press's 50 million image print and negative library. It is
updated by an average of 800 contemporary photos each day. The best 200 of
them are retained permanently in the database, while the rest are removed
after 12 months. The Photo Archive's historical collection features notable
figures and images from significant events of the 20th and, occasionally,
the 19th centuries (an 1844 photograph of Abraham Lincoln). Each photo is
accompanied by a caption identifying details of the photo and providing
historical context.
-
Guide to
Selected Media Use Statistics and Market Data
-
Data Mining
Advanced Level
-
The
Odum Institute (select the link to "public opinion poll question
database.") The Odum Institute maintains one of the oldest and
largest archives of machine-readable data in the U.S. Its Louis Harris Data
Center is the exclusive national repository for Louis Harris public opinion
data. The Institute has an extensive collection of U.S. Census data,
including one of the most complete holdings for 1970 Census files. Other
major sources of data include the North Carolina State Data Center, which
distributes North Carolina census data; and the National Center for Health
Statistics. The Institute also serves as the local repository for the World
Fertility Surveys, and the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Its
National Network of State Polls archive is recognized as the largest
available collection of state-level surveys. Also available are data from
studies conducted by UNC social science faculty.
-
Digital
Dissertation Abstracts (select "D", then scroll down). ProQuest
Digital Dissertations, or Dissertations Abstracts, indexes U. S.
dissertations from 1861 to as recent as last semester. The full text of
dissertations done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from
1997 on are available for free downloading in PDF format. Citations
for dissertations from 1980 on include 350-word abstracts, while masters'
theses from 1988 forward have 150 word abstracts. For both dissertations and
theses, from 1997 on, the citations also provide 24 page previews in PDF
format. The database covers work done at more than a
thousand institutions, primarily in the United States but also in Canada and
Great Britain, and at other European universities for recent years.
-
Factiva
(select "F", then scroll down). Factiva provides tools for
searching and monitoring general news and company, industry, and other
business information. It combines the former Dow Jones Interactive and
Reuters Business Briefing Coverage: Varies. Includes more than
8,000 sources that are updated on the day of publication, including more
than 120 continuously updated newswires. Some sources cover from the first
archival issue to present. Updated: Daily. Newswires are
continuously updated. [Note: click on "Free Text Examples" for
guides to basic and advanced searching in this database.]
-
NewsBank
[Note: This full-text newspaper database is available only in Park
Library's computer lab. Check with Park Librarian for tutorial.]
-
Bloomberg
Financial Services [Note: This full-text, real-time financial
services database is available only on a dedicated terminal in our Park
Library. There is a tutorial. Training is offered by Park Librarian upon
request.
-
WestLaw [Note: This database is
available on the UNC-CH campus in two libraries: the Law Library
(exclusively for law students) and The Park Library's computer lab where
special passwords are required. Please make an appointment with the Park
Librarian for a demonstration and tutorial.] Westlaw for Law Schools is the
full-text computer-assisted legal research service provided by West
Publishing Company. It provides access to federal and state legal cases,
statutes and administrative materials, plus secondary legal authorities,
citation services, Dow Jones News/Retrieval sources and many DIALOG
databases
-
Choices III (Simmons Market Research,
2000-2003 data). [Note: This software is available only in our Park
Library's computer lab. The user's manual is nearly 80 pages long, so there
is a steep learning curve with this program. Request a tutorial from the
Park Librarian.]
-
MRI Reporter. [Note: This CD-ROM
1996-2000 market research product is available only from the Park Library's
reference desk. Request a demonstration from the Park Librarian to accompany
the brief one-page user's handout.]
DATABASES YOU SHOULD BE
ABLE TO ACCESS FREE POST GRADUATION [Note: You will find these resources
at local public libraries, but first reconnoiter these libraries and consult
with the reference librarians about policies for access to databases. some
public libraries will permit home or office access.]
- NC/LIVE
(select "N", and scroll down). As part of the NCLive service,
EBSCOHost provides access to a variety of databases covering a wide range of
subjects. For complete coverage information, consult the description of the
individual database title. Also available via most academic, public, and
state libraries in North Carolina.
- Wadsworth
Textbook Publishers [Note: this company offers a four-month
long free subscription to InfoTrac College Edition. InfoTrac College Edition,
linking students to a database of over 4,000 periodicals.
Also offered is NewsEdge a timely, industry-specific news, refined by expert
editors and delivered to students online. From healthcare to government to
financial, NewsEdge provides access to global news events.
NEWSPAPER
FULL-TEXT ARCHIVES AVAILABLE AT UNC-CH ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
- http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/
(click on the pop down menu under "Subjects" and select
"Newspapers." Included is access to the AP.
- LexisNexis
Academic
- [Note: Park Library offers exclusive access to NewsBank
in its computer lab. This full-text database offers access to 11 daily
North Carolina newspapers.
NEWSPAPER FULL-TEXT
ARCHIVES AVAILABLE POST GRADUATION
- NC/LIVE
(select "N", and scroll down). As part of the NCLive service,
EBSCOHost provides access to a variety of databases covering a wide range of
subjects including selected newspapers. For complete coverage information, consult the description of the
individual database title. Also available via most academic, public, and
state libraries in North Carolina.
- Local public libraries typically archive microfilm copies
of local newspapers. Be advised that rarely does microfilm come with subject
or name indexes, except for The New York Times Index. Further,
not all of this country's 1,400+ daily newspapers nor 9,000+ non-daily
newspapers are microfilmed. That means folks must consult bound copies of
these newspapers.
SCHOLARLY LITERATURE REVIEW
FUNDAMENTALS
PRINT FORMATS: PROFESSIONAL TRADE
MAGAZINES and STATISTICAL DATA
- Editor & Publisher International Year Book
- Editor & Publisher Marketing Guide
- Broadcasting & Cable Year Book
- Bacon's Media Directories
- Ad Age 100 Leading Advertisers
- Veronis Suhler Media Merchant Bank
- The Brand Week Directory
- Marketers' Guide to Media
- Market Share Reporter
- SRDS: Standard Rate & Data Service
- LNA: Leading National Advertisers
- Market Research Handbook
- American Demographics
WEB SEARCH ENGINES
COMPARED.
- Search
Engine Showdown [Note: click on "Feature Chart" for a
detailed comparison of at least seven search engines.]
GOOGLE'S
ADVANCED SEARCH STRATEGIES.
Prepared by Barbara Semonche
Park Library Director
May 20, 2004
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