Reviews databases providing information on published, standardized and unpublished, non-standardized test instruments: Educational Testing Service File, Mental Measurements Yearbook Database, Dissertation Abstracts Online, ERIC, and Psychological Abstracts. Search strategies, search examples, and a summary chart of searchable fields for test…

Used the INSPEC database to compare two search options available on the DIALOG system for the purpose of establishing criteria to determine which of the alternatives would prove more cost effective than the other. (FM)

Analyzed data gathered from 78 online searchers to examine attitudes toward the use of DIALOG and SDC's ORBIT command languages. It was found that most users preferred DIALOG for ease of use. Twenty sources are listed. (FM)

Compares the user features of an in-house online search system based on automatic indexing with those of commercial search services, considering specific user types, file structure and applications, and the basic operating system environment. (FM)

Compares database update currency, number of hits, elapsed time, number of offline prints or online types, offline print turnaround time, vendor rates, total search cost, and discounted search cost based on vendor discount rates for five simple searches run on three major commercial vendors' online systems. (CWM)

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…

Describes a study conducted to identify the differences among the searches of users of online systems who have different amounts of overall experience, and the differences between the searches of persons with and without experience on the database being searched. Twenty-five references are cited. (FM)

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…

This bibliography provides citations to 74 articles which compare either single databases across different systems or different databases to each other. All articles included were published after 1976 in Database, Online, Online Review, or the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. A subject index is provided. (EJS)

Compares three Web-based online reference services that are described as a cross between a traditional database service and a Web search engine: Ask Jeeves (http://www.ask.com), The Electric Library (http://www.elibrary.com), and Information Please (http://www.infoplease.com). Concludes that each has strengths and weaknesses and aren't directly…