Recommends those cases in which a database search of CIJE would benefit from a supplementary manual search of Education Index. Article also presents findings of a study of the usefulness of CIJE abstracts (1969-1978) which suggest that the user choose different online printing formats for different years. (JD)

Describes the different approaches taken by the Chemical Abstracts Services database, which abstracts and indexes chemical publications, and the Belstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry database, which produces a collection of critical reviews. The resulting content of the databases and their ability to meet the needs of different users are…

Describes the decisions involved in an online environmental literature search of COMPENDEX and ENVIROLINE databases when considering free text or controlled vocabulary searching techniques. Topics covered are scope, concept identification, database choice, planning search strategy, and changing tactics during the search. Appendix contains examples…

Outlines practical searching techniques in seven core behavioral science databases accessing psychological literature: Psychological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index, Biosis, Medline, Excerpta Medica, Sociological Abstracts, ERIC. Use of individual files is discussed and their relative strengths/weaknesses are compared. Appended is a list…

Discusses and differentiates between four commercially available versions of the online source of chemistry information, "Chemical Abstracts": Lockheed, SDC, BRS, and NLM. Disadvantages/advantages of the vendors are considered, and tables are used to show the different print formats and data elements of each version. (JD)

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)

Addresses the problem of overlap between the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Psychological Abstracts data bases, especially in areas of educational psychology. The article compares costs and article selection and offers guidelines for searchers based on duplication from test searches. (JD)

Presents survey of two groups of databases covering patent literature: patent literature only and general literature that includes patents relevant to subject area of database. Description of databases and comparison tables for patent and general databases (cost, country coverage, years covered, update frequency, file size, and searchable data…

Presents a preliminary analysis of differences between Disclosure II and Predicasts Annual Reports Abstracts (databases which provide online company information) as available from DIALOG Information Retrieval Services. Sources of online information, duplication of information, company coverage, currency of coverage, accuracy of coverage, and…

Three online databases that provide information on regional, state, and local business news are compared in terms of publications indexed, indexing guidelines, record structure, span of coverage, currency, and availability. (CLB)

Reviews two databases covering state and federal legislation--Electronic Legislative Search System and Legi-Slate--by comparing database coverage, documentation and training, pricing, and evaluation. Three additional databases offered by Public Affairs Information, S & FA Reporting Services, and Legislex are mentioned. Five sources are given. (EJS)

This second of a three-part series compares search features (i.e., truncation symbols, boolean operators, proximity operators, phrase searching, save searches) of two databases providing legal information. Search tips concerning charges and effective searching and tables listing functions of commands and proximity operators for both databases are…

Evaluates these two bibliographic databases for geosciences information in terms of their content coverage, search methodologies, user effort, and analysis of results. (SW)

Describes a progression of tests that were developed for assessing online database accuracy. Results of the tests are discussed and compared; examples of search queries on DIALOG are given; and the possibility of standardizing such tests are considered. (Contains 11 references.) (LRW)

Describes compilation of data concerning pharmaceutical journal coverage in online databases which aid information providers in collection development and database selection. Methodology, results (a core collection, overlap, timeliness, geographic scope), and implications are discussed. Eight references and a list of 337 journals indexed online in…