Contents
Part 1 – Content Analysis
Content/Scope
EBSCOhost
EBSCOhost claims to be “the world’s most-used reference resource”. EBSCOhost provides users with the ability to search, browse, discover, and access a variety of content. The University’s subscription to EBSCOhost allows access to over 50 databases, “with citations, abstracts and selected full-text”1.
ProQuest Database
ProQuest claims to have a collection of over “90,000 sources, 6 billion digital pages… the world’s largest collection of dissertations and theses; 20 million pages of newspapers, and more than 450,000 books”. The University’s subscription to ProQuest allows access to 26 primary databases.
Authority
EBSCOhost
Most EBSCOhost databases provide direct access to the full-text of the article. The search guides provide tips and hints on methodologies to improve search results, to select databases to search, how to maintain and leverage search history and use some controlled vocabularies in the searches. This allows a user to obtain a high degree of confidence in the articles returned.
ProQuest Database
The search guides provide tips and hints on methodologies to improve search results, to select databases to search, how to maintain and leverage search
Format
EBSCOhost
It is possible to search multiple databases at the same time, through the search menu. Research guides are available and the database guides are very complete. For example, Academic Search Complete, one of the primary EBSCOhost databases, has a 9-page guide describing the searchable fields, their definitions, and various authority files.
EBSCO also supports mobile access and has a custom application for both Android and iOS.
ProQuest Database
It is possible to search multiple databases at the same time, through the search menu. Research guides are available and the database guides are complete. The search fields are more limited than those in EBSCOhost; however, a command line search utility can access more than the UI. For those familiar with command interfaces (CLI), this can be very powerful. However, the learning curve will be very steep. ProQuest Database also supports mobile access and has a custom application for both Android and iOS. Cost While both EBSCOhost and ProQuest Database resources are free for students to use, the University pays a fee for access.
Additional Features
EBSCOhost
- EBSCOhost screens and UI are presented in English by default. If enabled by the library’s administrator, it may be available in other languages.
Full-text translation is possible via the EBSCOhost interface.- Results can be saved to Google Drive
- RSS search and journal alerting is supported.
ProQuest Database
- Term-hit highlighting is available.
- Documents can be emailed, printed, and search strategy details can also be included.
Citations
EBSCOhost. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from https://www.ebscohost.com/archives/general-archives/archives-about-us
University of Kentucky Libraries (Ed.). (n.d.). EBSCOhost. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from http://libraries.uky.edu/record.php?lir_id=164
ProQuest. (n.d.). Who We Are. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from https://www.proquest.com/about/who-we-are.html
Part 2 – Search Analysis
In this Part 2 of the analysis requirement, we compare and contrast a selected database from EBSCOhost and a specific database from ProQuest Databases. This analysis will
EBSCOhost‘s LISTA
Basic Search
The Basic Search user interface lets you create a search with limiters, expanders, and Boolean operators. The layout is very similar to a Google search screen and therefore would be usable by novices or those unfamiliar with advanced search techniques. To access the search limiters or expanders, the user selects the “Search Options” Link.
The Basic Search interface is actually a command line search interface tool, where the user can enter a search term, then scope it to a particular field in the adjacent dropdown list. This clever interface alleviates the need to learn database-specific commands.
Booleans: EBSCOhost fully supports Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT). When executing a search AND takes precedence over OR. Boolean logic can be facilitated by using parentheses to nest the query terms within other query terms.
Limiters: EBSCOhost allows searchers to narrow the focus of your search so that the information retrieved from the databases you search is limited according to the values you select. Using multiple limiters is supported on the database. Limiters
Expanders: Expanders broaden the scope of the search. Common expanders which appear below the Refine Search sub-tab include:
Apply related words – Select this option to expand results to include true synonyms and plurals of your terms.
Also, search within the full text of the articles – this option is used to search for keywords within the full text of articles, as well as abstract and citation information. This applies only to words not qualified by a field code.
Thesaurus
EBSCOhost provides a subject-specific thesaurus of terms that relate to content in
Results
The results returned can be sorted by Date, Source, Author, and Relevance. There is no user-accessible control for defining or adjusting the relevance-determining algorithms.
Results can be easily refined by using the filter widgets (facets) available on the left side of the results screen. Widgets may provide a popup window for additional options.
Record Construction
In certain circumstances, the record construction may dictate the techniques used to approach the search. Users can review the index values and frequencies in the database by examining the indexes in the database. Index browsing allows the user to view all values that occur in specified fields in a database, along with corresponding hit counts. Indexes can also be searched using tags. Since browsable indexes are phrase indexed, the exact form and spelling of terms as they appear in the database must be used in conjunction with the tags when entering a search manually. EBSCOhost publishes the indexes available for browsing in the help document.
Cost:
According to the GSA schedule published in 2013, the list price one-site subscription to the LISTA database runs approximately $1,785/year
ProQuest
Library Science Database
According to the ProQuest website, the “The Library Science Database gives users full-text access to over 150 top publications in library and information science. This collection is specifically designed to provide full-text support for the core titles included in ProQuest’s authoritative Library & Information Science Abstracts database (LISA). It covers a range of titles and topics relevant to the theoretical and applied study of library science, including trade publications aimed at the library profession as well as scholarly journals.
The ProQuest search interface provides both a Basic and an Advanced Search capability. Similar to the EBSCOhost interface, the Advanced ProQuest interface is likewise a guided wizard in creating a command line search. ProQuest goes a step further in allowing users to create and execute command line searches so that users can tailor their query exactly.
Basic Search
Similar to a Google search page, the ProQuest Basic Search is a streamlined, simple one field entry point for keywords. Users can check a box to include
Advanced Search
The Advanced Search interface is nearly a mirror of the one provided by EBSCOhost. Users familiar with either will feel very comfortable with the other. The Advanced Search interface again accepts keywords in a query and allows the user to select field scoping by means of a dropdown list next to the query field. One can modify a search query after the results are returned; however, the query is not forwarded to the command line screen for editing. That is, users cannot switch between Advanced Search and Command Line in order to edit a query.
Boolean operators: ProQuest supports Boolean operators. Boolean logic can be facilitated by using parentheses to nest the query terms within other query terms.
Proximity Search: ProQuest also supports proximity operators NEAR and PRE, giving users the ability to search both forward, backward, or in both directions at once.
Thesaurus support
Uniquely, ProQuest also allows users to link a descriptor term to a Subheading (qualifier) by selecting the proper qualifier in the Thesaurus window, or by using the LNK (or –) in Basic, Advanced or Command Line Search. Users can link two related data elements together, to ensure proper specificity in the search. It is important to note that LNK is neither a Boolean or a Proximity operator. LNK enables the user to specify precise relationships between qualifiers and terms in the search query.
Wildcards
ProQuest provides wildcard characters to adjust query hits. Truncation is supported but stemming is not. Users who want to use stemming techniques will have to stem the keywords first then add a wildcard.
Record construction
ProQuest provides ‘lookup’ links to search and browse indexes of defined values for some search fields, either on the search pages themselves or when you select a field from the dropdown list. users can: search and find a value first, and then browse and select from a matching list; or search or browse a default alpha-ordered list of all indexed values.
For each listed term, a corresponding count number displays. The number shown is the number of documents in the set of currently selected databases, for which that term is indexed.
Cost
While published pricing is not available for ProQuest, the University of Kentucky has budgeted over$10m for Collections and Operations, which implies approximately $6.4m for collections. ProQuest would be estimated at approximately 5-8% of that figure, or $300-500K.
Citations
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Retrieved from http://support.ebsco.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/help/?int=ehost&lang=en&feature_id=Databases&TOC_ID=Always&SI=0&BU=0&GU=1&PS=0&ver=live&dbs=lxhjnh,lxh
Appendix 1: Definition of Fields
The following table explains the contents of each field in a Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts record’s detailed display.
Table 1: Definition of LISTA Fields
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Title of the article, and indicator as to whether or not the article is a cover story. |
| Language | Language in which the article was published. |
| Authors | Author’s names in both inverted and uninverted format, as well as author affiliation and e-mail when available. |
| Source | The source in which the article was published, its volume number, issue number, part number, the number of pages in the article, and a description and number of illustrations found in the article. |
| Document Type | Indicates a record’s document type, such as article, book, abstract, company report, industry overview, and more. |
| Abstract | A brief summary taken from the article, or supplied by the author or publisher. |
| Subject Terms | The subjects describing the record, which may include document type, personal names, place, style or describing terms. |
| Geographic Terms | Geographic terms pertaining to the article’s content. |
| Author-Supplied Keywords | Subjects describing the record that are supplied by the author. |
| Company/Entity | The company or organization, DUNS number, and Ticker number referenced in the document. |
| People | People referenced in the article. |
| Author Affiliations | The author’s correspondence address of the organization or institution |
| ISSN | International Standard Serial Number. |
| ISBN | International Standard Book Number. |
| URL | Link to site where user can purchase Harvard case studies or books. |
| Accession Number | Unique number to identify the record. |
Appendix 2: Searchable Fields
There are 45 fields within the LISTA database which can be utilized for searching. The default fields for unqualified searches consist of the following: all authors, all subjects, all keywords, all title info (including source title) and all abstracts.
The following list will help you locate detailed information referenced in this database as a field.
Table 2: Searchable Fields in LISTA
|
Searchable Tag |
Description |
Example |
|
AB |
Abstract or Author-Supplied
Abstract Performs a keyword search of the abstract summaries. |
AB Information Science |
|
AD |
Author Affiliation Performs an exact search for companies or organizations an author is affiliated with; may also include correspondence address. |
AD University of London |
|
AF |
Author Affiliation Performs a keyword search for companies or organizations an author is affiliated with; may also include correspondence address. |
AF London |
|
AN |
Accession Number Performs an exact search for an article’s unique identification number. |
AN ISTA2100022 |
|
AR |
Author Phrase Performs an exact search for an article’s author in the inverted format, and the uninverted format for newswire articles. |
AR Roberts, Gary |
|
AS |
Author-Supplied Abstract Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles have an author-supplied abstract. |
AS Y |
|
AU |
Author Performs a keyword search for any authors of an article. |
AU Roberts |
|
CO |
Company Entity Performs a keyword search of company subject headings, Company entity and associated fields. Note: Company entities are also searchable via the SU search tag. |
CO AMAZON.COM INC |
|
CS |
Cover Story Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles will be a cover story. |
CS Y |
|
CY |
Country ID Performs an exact search for a country’s ISO identification code, indicating an article’s country of publication. |
CY US |
|
DE |
Heading or Keyword Performs an exact search of the subject headings, companies, people, and author-supplied keywords for terms describing a document’s contents. |
DE SCHOLARLY publishing |
|
DN |
DUNS Number Performs an exact search for the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS Number) assigned to a record. Note: Further information on DUNS numbers can be found on the Dun & Bradstreetwebsite. |
DN 102096559 |
|
DT |
Date of Publication Performs an exact search for articles published on a specific date, in the format of CCYYMMDD. |
DT 20040901 |
|
ED |
Entry Date Performs an exact search for the date of entry of an article into the database in YYYYMMDD format. |
ED 20031201 |
|
FR |
References Available Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles contain references. |
FR Y |
|
FT |
Full Text Available Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. N indicates that the records don’t have full text available. |
FT N |
|
GE |
Geographic Terms Performs a keyword search of geographic locations pertaining to an article’s content. Note: Geographic terms are also searchable via the SU search tag. |
GE France |
|
IB |
ISBN Performs an exact search (with or without dashes) for a record’s International Standard Book Number. |
IB 1556530706 |
|
IC |
NAICS Code or Description Performs a keyword search for the North American Industry Classification Standard Number (NAICS) and text associated with an article. |
IC 451211 |
|
IL |
Illustrations Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles contain illustrations (e.g. graphs, charts, diagrams, etc.). Note: Type of illustration is also searchable via this search tag. |
IL Y |
|
IP |
Issue Performs an exact search for a publication’s issue number. |
IP 3 |
|
IS |
ISSN (No Dashes) Performs an exact search for a publication’s International Standard Serial Number. |
IS 87556286 |
|
JN |
Journal Name Performs am exact search for the journal title in which an article was published. |
JN Acquisitions Librarian |
|
KL |
Language of Keywords Performs a keyword search of the language of author-supplied terms describing the article. |
KL German |
|
KW |
Author-Supplied Keywords Performs a keyword search for author-supplied terms describing the article. Note: Author-Supplied keywords are also searchable via the SU search tag. |
KW information retrieval |
|
LA |
Language Performs a keyword search for the language in which an article was originally published. |
LA German |
|
NR |
Number of References Performs an exact numeric search of the records for the specified amount of references. |
NR 10 |
|
PE |
People Performs a keyword search for people’s names referenced in articles. Note: People terms are also searchable via the SU search tag. |
PE BERNERS-LEE, Tim |
|
PG |
Number of Pages Performs an exact numeric search for an article’s page length. |
PG 4 |
|
PS |
Reviews & Products Performs a keyword search for products referenced in articles. Note: Reviews & products terms are also searchable via the SU search tag. |
PS “INFORMATION Seeking in Electronic Environments (Book)” |
|
PT |
Publication Type Performs an exact search for the publication type. |
PT Book |
|
PZ |
Document Type Performs an exact search of the document type. |
PZ Article |
|
RV |
Peer-Reviewed Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles are peer-reviewed. |
RV Y |
|
SD |
Articles with Several Reviews &
Products Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles refer to several reviews and products terms. |
SD Y |
|
SG |
Articles with Several Companies Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles refer to several company entity terms. |
SG Y |
|
SJ |
Articles with Several People Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles refer to several people terms. |
SJ Y |
|
SK |
Articles with Several
Industries Performs an exact search for the value Y or N. Y indicates that the articles refer to several NAICS codes. |
SK Y |
|
SO |
Publication Name Performs a keyword search for the journal title in which an article was published. |
SO Library Trends |
|
SP |
Start Pag Performs an exact search for an article’s start page. |
SP 25 |
|
SU |
Subject Terms Performs a keyword search of subject headings, companies, people, and author-supplied keywords for terms describing a document’s contents. |
SU SCHOLARLY |
|
TI |
Title Performs a keyword search for the title of a document. |
TI Computer Application |
|
TK |
Ticker Symbol Performs an exact search for a company’s stock ticker number. |
TK IBM |
|
TX |
All Text Performs a keyword search of all the database’s searchable fields. Using the TX field code will cause the search to look for the keyword in the full text as well as the citation record. |
TX Information Science |
|
UI |
Unique Identifier Performs an exact search for an article’s accession number. |
UI ISTA2100022 |
|
VI |
Volume Performs an exact search for a publication’s volume number. |
VI 3 |