Database Searching for Historical Research [microform] / Michael Lane Penrod.
This study looks at the issue of using alternative databases to support research on historical topics. The literature on online searching in history is not as well developed, nor as extensive, as literature about online searching in other subject areas. In addition, there are only two major database...
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| Format: | Microfilm Book |
| Language: | English |
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1994.
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| Summary: | This study looks at the issue of using alternative databases to support research on historical topics. The literature on online searching in history is not as well developed, nor as extensive, as literature about online searching in other subject areas. In addition, there are only two major databases that are history-specific in terms of subject coverage. Two subfields of history were chosen and information requests for these subfields was turned into search queries and searched in various DIALOG files. Retrieved items were reviewed to determine relevance, recall, and precision. This study found that information of use to historians and to anyone performing historical research can be found in databases that do not market themselves for use in historical research; a major portion of the information found was in files that do not appear at first glance to be of use to historical researchers. Librarians must be innovative when it comes to serving the historian; the information is available to those who know how to approach the question and where to find the information. Fifteen tables depict data presented by the DIALOG file, data presented by question, and a comparison of databases. Appendices contain the DIALOG bluesheet table, a five-step search strategy with a sample worksheet, a sample data gathering worksheet, and a list of selected titles. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/AEF) |
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| Item Description: | ERIC Note: Masters Research Paper, Kent State University. ERIC Document Number: ED390404. |
| Physical Description: | 42 pages. |