The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and other U.S. jurisdictions. This First Look presents findings from the provisional data of the IPEDS fall 2012 data collection, which included three survey…

Describes an approximate document ranking process that uses a compact array of in-memory, low-precision approximations for document length. Combined with another rule for reducing the memory required by partial similarity accumulators, the approximation heuristic allows the ranking of large document collections using less than one byte of memory…

Examines how online versions of databases vary on different systems. Differences are grouped into three categories: obvious differences, including easily available information such as updating, dates covered, and price; database choice, including subfile structure, field structure, and content; and system choice, including support and system…

Examines the strength of Data-Star, a European database service, in the following categories: company-specific information; market research and investment bank reports; international newspapers and journals; and legal aspects of trade with the European community. Five tables detailing findings are included, and pricing and special features are…

Profiles 25 database distribution and production companies, all of which responded to a 1997 survey with information on 54 separate online, Web-based, or CD-ROM systems. Highlights increased competition, distribution formats, Web versions versus local area networks, full-text delivery, and pricing policies. Tables present a sampling of customers…

Examines the strengths and weaknesses of the three chemical dictionary files now available online--CHEMNAME, CHEMDEX, CHEMLINE--to aid the searcher in selecting the most appropriate database. (Author/JD)

Examines the relative benefits and searching philosophies of five major search systems (DIALOG, ORBIT, BRS, NLM, and DOE/RECON) as a selection aid. Differences in command language, full text searching capability, use and expression of Boolean operators, and searching mechanisms are discussed, and comparison charts and system/database comparisons…

Reports on the design and implementation of PBS (Parsing, Boolean Recognition, Stemming), a software module used in conjunction with an intermediary program to interpret natural language queries used for online database searching. Results of a test of the initial version, which is designed for use with bibliographic files, are reported. (13…

This description and comparison of the major economic statistical database services discusses such factors as public and proprietary data, value-added services, user training and support, data specialties, and pricing. (CLB)

Data collected from analysis of the University of South Dakota's uninhibited database selection and use policy are evaluated as an aid in developing a cost-efficient database searching strategy. Statistics are presented which clarify the effectiveness of single and multiple database use. (SW)

Discusses full-text, online databases as a source for unowned documents. A test of the effectiveness of online document delivery services in meeting the needs of students and faculty at Stetson University (Florida) is described; and problems and alternative document delivery options are considered. (20 references) (KRN)

Describes a Web-based survey system developed for evaluating distributed learning at the University of Central Florida. Results are incorporated into a participation database table that restricts duplicate and unwanted responses, and compares the pilot test results of this Web-based survey to those of a traditional mailed survey. (Author/LRW)

The study reported was conducted at Concordia University after using the CAN/DOC ordering system to procure documents in the sciences directly from the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI) to assess the efficiency of interlibrary loan (ILL) procedures using this system. This study focuses on the relative turn-around…

Two tables compare projected costs of online versus offline retrieval of citations from 50 databases using BRS and DIALOG. Data include database; databank; cost of access per hour; cost of 15-minute search with no retrieval; and cost of 15-minute search plus cost of 10 and 30 online or offline citations. (CLB)

Evaluates criminal justice coverage in on-line, commercially available data bases using both "Hot Topics" and general profiles. Charts show topics covered, periodicals indexed by each data base, and recommendations for which data base to use for various topics; appendixes present indexing terms used by and annotations for selected data…