Ph.D.

Coursework
20CCPH11C: Research and Publication Ethics

UNIT 3
Databases

Dr. Anil Kumar Siwach

Dept. of Library & Information Science
Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak
 Online Database
• A database is an organized collection of data,
generally stored and accessed electronically from
a computer system.
• According to the University Santo Tomas (2008),
“Online databases are collections of
computerized information or data such as
articles, books, graphics and multimedia that can
be searched to find information. Databases can
be general or subject based in form of abstracts
and or full text”.
• Databases provide access to a wealth of useful
research materials from academic journals,
newspapers, and magazines.
• Some databases also include e-books, relevant
Web resources, and various multimedia.
• The information found in databases is either
originally created or comes from different,
reliable sources.
 Types of Databases
• On the Basis of Information Incorporated
– Full-text Online Databases
– Reference Databases
– Numeric Databases
– Multimedia Databases
• On the Basis of Scope of Data
– General interest Databases
– Discipline Specific Databases
– Subject Specific Databases
• On the Basis of Contents
– Article Database
– Theses/Dissertation Database
– Citation Database
– Audio / video Database
– Indexing &Abstracting Databases
– Directory Databases
 Accessing Databases
• Electronic databases can be accessed
anywhere from remote location and users do
not need to go to the library to get
information.
• Online databases involve searching of
remotely located information through
interactive computer and communications
networks irrespective of any physical or
geographical location.
Why Databases?
 Online Database vs Web
• The information provided by online databases is
scholarly in nature.
• Databases are compilations of journal articles,
magazines, books and other authoritative sources
while on Internet we get anything that anyone
has posted with no regulation or standard.
• The information in databases is both accurate
and reliable.
• Users may possibly need to pay an amount of
money to subscribe it.
• Each database varies from the other in terms
of their
– features and functionality,
– types of documents (books, journal articles,
theses, etc.) included,
– coverage of contents,
– language and date of contents,
– searching capabilities and
– interfaces.
• Some of the well known online databases are
(not exhaustive):
– JSTOR, Lexus-Nexus, Medline, ProQuest,
ScienceDirect, Compendex, ERIC, Cambridge
University Press, Project Muse, Project Euclid,
SIAM, MLA (English), WorldCat and so forth.
• These are the excellent sources for those who
are looking for authentic and credible sources
of information.
• Full text databases
• E.g. Science Direct, Emerald
• Abstracting and indexing databases
• E.g. Medline
• Citation databases
• E.g. Scopus, Web of Science
• Theses databases
• E.g. NDLTD, Shodhganga
Searching and Browsing Databases
• Search
– Simple search
– Advance search
• Browse
– Through various available approaches
Indexing and Abstracting
Databases
Parts of a Research Paper
• An indexing service is a service that assigns descriptors
and other kinds of access points to documents.
• An abstracting service is a service that
provides abstracts of publications, often on a subject or
group of related subjects, usually on a subscription
basis.
• An indexing and abstracting service is a service that
– provides shortening or summarizing of documents and
– assigning of descriptors for referencing documents
• Indexing by discovery services is important
• Numerous indexing options:
– General search engines
– Scholarly search engines
– General and discipline-specific scholarly indexing
databases
• The prestige of any journal is considered by how many
abstracting and indexing services cover that journal.
• It has been observed in last few years that authors
have started searching for indexed journals to publish
their articles.
• Indexed journals are considered to be of higher
scientific quality as compared to non-indexed journals.
• This is because journals have to go through a vetting
process to be included, or indexed, in reputable
bibliographic databases.
Citation Databases
 What is a Citation Database?
• Citation databases compile the citations in the
reference lists (bibliographies) of scholarly
publications.
• Citation database records also include
bibliographic content that identify a
publication: article title, journal name, author,
abstract, etc.
• Citation databases are databases that have
been developed for evaluating publications.
• The citation databases enable you to count
citations and check, for example, which
articles or journals are the most cited ones.
 Why use a Citation Database?
• Citation databases enable you to find newer
papers that reference a paper or author you
already know about.
• You might want to do this in order to:
– find more papers on a topic
– trace how an idea has been confirmed, applied,
extended or corrected in later publications
– see which other researchers are citing your work or
the work of your lab mates
– find citation numbers and metrics to report on job or
grant applications, evaluations, etc.
 Summary
• Online databases provides a wealth of
information.
• Some important databases (not exhaustive):
– Full text databases: Science Direct, Emerald
– Abstracting and indexing databases: Medline
– Citation databases: Scopus, Web of Science
– Theses databases: NDLTD, Shodhganga