Too many
Internet users think that Google or other search engines are the best way to
search for information. Yesterday a friend was asking questions about the
history of the synagogue we were in. I
told him that my son wrote an article about a part of the history. The article was not published in any source
that he could check with Google. He said
that he was going to check with Google.
I tried to tell him that there is a good reason libraries pay big bucks
for databases and Google makes money selling ads. I even offered to send him the article if he
would give me his e-mail address.
Today Google
came through. With my alerts I found out
that he searched for the information. He
found the article (home.earthlink.net/~ddstuhlman/crc94.pdf) that I wrote about
helping my son write the article. He did not find the article my son wrote.
In 2003 I
taught a beginning course in database searching. Part of understanding the best search
strategy is to understand how databases work.
Here is a list of vocabulary terms that are as relevant today as they
were back in 2003. I made only minor
updates.
•
Byte: The
smallest unit able to transfer or store data in the computer memory or a file
is a 0 or 1. Bytes are the building blocks for programs. One byte can store one character.
•
•
Character: In
language the smallest unit of information is the alphabet. The letters form phonemes (the smallest unit
of sound), morphemes (the smallest grammatical unit) and eventually words. Words form phrases and sentences.
•
•
Field: An identified element of a record that
contains alpha or numeric data, e.g. title field or author field.
•
Database: A collection of data and/or information.
•
File: Collection of related information. In the
computer files contain programs, text, or data.
•
Record: Unit of a file that contains all information
regarding a particular item.
•
Database producer: A company that collects and organizes data,
turns data into information, and creates machine-readable files.
•
Vendor: An organization that sells information access
to institutions or consumers.
•
Databank: A group of databases that are vended by the
same company.
•
Information retrieval: Making a given
collection of stored information available to users who want access.
•
End User:
Person who does the search or the person needing the information.
•
False Drop:
A citation produced from a logically correct search that is not relevant to the
user’s needs.
•
Hits or Postings:
Both terms are used to indicate the number of documents or citation reported.
•
Information:
Organized data that has been arranged for better comprehension or
understanding. What is one person's information can become an other person's
data.
•
Relevant: Results that are useable, appropriate, or on
topic. A highly subjective term that
only the user of the information can judge and even then may judge
inconsistently.
•
Recall: The number of retrieved relevant items out of
all possible relevant items in a file
•
Precision: The number of relevant items retrieved out of
the actual number of items retrieved. Ideally,
a good search has both good precision and recall, in reality you usually have
to sacrifice one for the other.
Types of databases
•
Reference or citation – Points users to the source of information. Examples are bibliographic data bases such
as library catalogs and indexes.
•
•
Source or Full text – Contains the actual data or texts that the user wants.
Examples are Ebsco academic databases, encyclopedias, ProQuest,
and Nexis/Lexis.
•
•
Directories:
Provide access to names, addresses and related data. Examples are: Phone
books, American Library Directory
•
Pictorial : Provides access to graphic and other still visuals. Examples are: ArtStor or map databases.
•
Visual and/audio:
Provide access to recorded moving images and recorded audio. Examples are
Alexander Street Videos and PBS videos.
•
Hybrid databases:
Databases that can’t be classified in one of the categories or contain both
full text and citations. Examples are:
Internet Archive and WestLaw.
•
Database
players
In commercial online searching there are usually 4 players:
•
1. Database producer creates the database itself
•
2. Database vendor processes and distributes the database
to libraries, businesses, and organizations.
•
3. A trained expert to help the end user learn about
searching or to help guide the search
•
4. End user the person who will actually use the search
results
In some cases, the producer and vendor will be the same entity.
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