Current issues and the future of the database business are discussed in five papers. Topics covered include aspects relating to the quality of database production; international ownership in the U.S. information marketplace; an overview of pricing strategies in the electronic information industry; and pricing issues from the viewpoints of online…

Describes ERA (Electronic Redistribution and Archiving), a new service on Dialog, that provides both users and database producers with a legal means of registering multiple, systematic use of copyrighted material. Costs and pricing are explained; inclusion of copyright notices on database records is discussed; and compliance is considered. (LRW)

Reviews the best and worst in databases on disk, CD-ROM, and online, and offers judgments and observations on database characteristics. Two databases are praised and three are criticized. (Author/JMV)

This report focuses on the current status of national and state information systems on residential services for persons with developmental disabilities. Ten national databases and 24 state databases are profiled. Each profile presents a summary of the types of information collected and how this information can be accessed. Data elements are…

Raises questions about the validity and reliability of doing research online via the proliferation of academic databases. Finds different versions of the Lexis-Nexis database have differing search capabilities. Argues that dependence on database research findings means dependence on decisions made by a few people who design search engines and…

The Association for the Advancement of Health Education (AAHE) and Academic Programs for Health Science, George Mason University (Virginia), have collaborated in upgrading AAHE's Health Resources Information System. The process involved updating the health resources information on file. This information, which represents addresses and telephone…

This report describes and illustrates the Northwest Regional Laboratory's (NWREL) Database and School Profiling project. Uses and implications for future data assembly and database design activities are explained. Analysis of the database has impacted evaluation and policymaking activities regarding at-risk youth, rural education, early childhood…

Describes the method used by the American Chemical Society to keyboard its primary journals directly into a publishing database, which is then used to produce printed journals and create an online full text file. The use of a generalized mark-up format to convert journals not keyboarded in such a manner is suggested. (four references) (CLB)

This document reports a study of the processes involved in providing information services on curriculum resources to educational communities. In the first part, the development of the system for exchanging information within the Australian educational community is described, and the purpose, method, and results of a survey of American, Canadian,…

Describes the changes scientific abstracting and indexing services are making to develop new production systems for a marketplace which is influenced by the information superhighway and the demand for information in an electronic format. Descriptions are included of computer system and data input changes implemented by several database producers…

This study is the final report from the National Center for Education Statistics task force on redesign of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Following an executive summary outlining the need for changes and a series of recommendations, Section 1 details the reasons, goals, and processes involved in the IPEDS redesign.…