Information in Databases: Subjects and Publication Types

How databases categorize information

Each database type can be further divided by subject and publication types.

Subject area: The information in a database can be specific to a particular academic discipline or subject, such as Business, Medicine, Agriculture, etc.

Examples:

GALILEO > Business and Economics > ABI/INFORM Complete

GALILEO > Medicine and Health Sciences > MEDLINE

GALILEO > Science & Technology > AGRICOLA

WANT MORE on Subject areas?
> Unit 2 > Starting Your Seach
and
> Unit 5 > The Great GALILEO

Publication type: Some databases might cover only information collected from periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals) while others cover only books. Popular and current events publications might be the focus of some databases and others might cover information only from scholarly journals.

Examples:

Books:
Online library catalog (GIL), WorldCat (GALILEO>News/Facts Reference)

Scholarly journals:
Current Contents (GALILEO>Science & Technology> Current Contents), PsycFIRST (GALILEO>Social Sciences> PsycFIRST)

Popular culture and current events:
Reader's Guide Abstracts (GALILEO>News/Facts Reference> Reader's Guide Abstracts)

Combination of scholarly and popular publications:
Academic Search Premier (GALILEO>Academic Search Premier)

Language:
Some databases cover only English language materials while other databases include citations to materials in a variety of languages.

Time Period:
Generally, databases cover only a certain range of dates. The MLA (Modern Language Association) database covers a period from 1963 to the present, while Academic Search Premier offers citations to information published from 1984 to the present, but offers full-text only from 1990 to the present.

Availability of materials indexed in database:
One library isn't likely to carry all the publications indexed in a database. Both size and mission determine the type materials an institution has and the depth of coverage subjects are given. Smaller two-year college libraries aren't likely to carry as many discipline specific publications as a four-year graduate research institution. Also consider, an institution that has a nursing (or other) program will 1) have materials that support the program, and 2) provide coverage of the program based on the type degrees offered, i.e., an institution offering a masters degree in nursing will have more materials on the subject that an institution offering only a bachelors degree in nursing.

There are generally three options for obtaining needed materials: your library; another University System Library; or a library outside the state. Search the GIL online catalog to determine the materials your library has. Search the GIL Universal Catalog, linked from library home pages, to find materials owned by other University System of Georgia libraries. If materials are not available within the state, they can be obtained through interlibrary loan, but if time is a concern, you might want to search a database that would be more likely to offer information that can be found in your home library or at another University System library.

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Summary
Types of databases & their divisions