5. LLISFT bibliographic database- indexes articles and book reviews in over 234 library and information science periodicals published in the United States
6. Librarians search databases to learn the extent of the information available Knowledge of terminology in the database thesaurus and the scope of the information are important to obtain the best search results. Every search conducted reveals the extent of the information in the database.
7. STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS typically use databases most familiar to their discipline. search known databases and may omit relevant information in other databases.
8. Research Questions How many articles about each topic appear in each database? What key search terms were used and were they the same in each database? Are there more articles found by narrowing the search term or broadening it?
9. Methodology research conducted by any student at the University of Southern Mississippi five topics of random issues in education and general interest
10. TOPICS 1). current changes in teacher certification 2). increase of solar energy use in the past ten years 3). school media 4). cultural assimilation 5). multicultural learning in schools
11. RESULTS * More than 10 articles were retrieved **1194 articles were retrieved.
12. CONCLUSION This study illustrated the importance of researchers knowing several similar or related search terms to use and using other databases. Each database used different controlled vocabulary and required their use in order to retrieve relevant articles. All the topics searched within the two databases found no duplicate articles between the two databases. Each database drew from different journals and had unique articles on the topic.
13. A large portion of materials budget invested to provide the best access to information affordable The greatest value of a full text database is its ability to bring new, quality sources into the library’s collection. The greatest value a librarian can provide is the knowledge of what lies within the databases.
Editor's Notes
Knowledge of terminology in the database thesaurus and the information the database has to offer are important in order to obtain the best search results. Every search conducted reveals the extent of the information the database had. The researcher can evaluate the database results and give a clearer picture of what the database can provide to the student in his search
The increase of information with electronic databases and web sources can overwhelm any inexperienced researcher. Joseph’s study (2007) stated that “conducting an exhaustive search for information on a particular topic can be daunting to researchers and scholars”. And as noted in Brooks’ (2001) study of information resources, many libraries subscribe to EBSCO because of their thorough understanding of the journals purchased by academic libraries for research. Universities and public libraries invest a large portion of their materials budget in providing the best access to information they can afford to meet the needs of the users. The greatest value of a full text database is its ability to bring new, quality sources into the library’s collection. The greatest value a librarian can provide is the knowledge of what lays within the databases their customers as researchers use.The increase of information with electronic databases and web sources can overwhelm any inexperienced researcher. Joseph’s study (2007) stated that “conducting an exhaustive search for information on a particular topic can be daunting to researchers and scholars”. And as noted in Brooks’ (2001) study of information resources, many libraries subscribe to EBSCO because of their thorough understanding of the journals purchased by academic libraries for research. Universities and public libraries invest a large portion of their materials budget in providing the best access to information they can afford to meet the needs of the users. The greatest value of a full text database is its ability to bring new, quality sources into the library’s collection. The greatest value a librarian can provide is the knowledge of what lays within the databases their customers as researchers use.
