Glossary
A B C D E F H I J K M N O P R S T U W
A
abstract: a concise summary describing the main idea or content of a work such as an article, book, or dissertation. Abstracts are provided along with citation/bibliographic information in many periodical indexes, and may be written by either the work’s author(s) or an independent abstractor
accession number: a number assigned to an item when it is added to the library catalog; indicating the chronological order in which items were added
alert: notification (by e-mail) about new publications added to a database
archive: a collection of related records (any medium) going back in time, usually to the date that the records were first created
author search: a search for a work by a particular author(s) in an electronic catalog or index
B
back issue: any issue of a periodical older than the most recent (current) issue
basic index: a combined index of the terms (keywords) from all fields of a database
bibliographic database: a database which provides descriptive records of items such as books, journal articles, conference proceedings, patents, legislation and reports
bibliographic reference: a reference (or citation) giving a bibliographic description of an article, book or other document
blog: typically a hybrid of a personal diary and a commentary/guide to what is on other websites, although there are actually many different types of blogs
boolean operator: Boolean operators are used to construct searches of a database. The three most commonly used operators are AND, OR and NOT
boolean search: a search using Boolean operators
broader term: in a hierarchical classification system (Thesaurus), a descriptor (keyword) that includes another term as a subclass, for example, “Libraries” listed as a broader term for “School Libraries”
citation: the pertinent information needed to find the full text of a publication. Citations are provided in bibliographies, indexes, and the lists of references in scientific publications
citation index: a bibliographic index which allows the user to trace research forward in time by searching for articles that have cited a known relevant article
cited article: an article referenced in another scientific publication
cited author: an author whose publication has been referenced in a scientific publication
classification: the arrangement of knowledge into specific groups or systems
cookie: a piece of information sent to a browser by a Web Server, the browser then returns that information to the Web server. This is how some Web pages “remember” your previous visits
copyright: a form of protection (provided by law) covering a specific period of time for the author or publisher of “original works of authorship”. Copyright is also intended to allow the right of the public to have access to knowledge
coverage: for bibliographic databases, the range of years and number (volume and issue) and type of publications including the title of the source material
cross-reference: directions that lead from one subject or name to another linked one in a catalog or index
descriptor: a term (keyword) assigned by indexers
DOI - digital object identifier: an alphanumeric name that identifies digital content, such as a journal article. The DOI is paired with the content’s electronic address, or URL, in an updateable central directory, and is published in place of the URL in order to avoid broken links while allowing the content to move as needed
domain names: host names which indicate a specific product name and/or who produced the web page in question
e-print: an author self-archived document. In the sense that the term is ordinarily used, the content of an e-print is the result of scientific or other scholarly research
F
facsimile: an exact replica of a book or manuscript, both in text and physical appearance
FAQs: a list of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers
field: the location in a database record reserved for a particular type of data; for example, in a library catalog, author, title, ISBN, subject headings would all be stored in specific fields
firewall: a software program that limits access to an Internet (WWW) site and provides a degree of security
full text: the entire content of a work, such as an article, book, or encyclopedia
H
hit: an item identified or retrieved in a catalog or search of a database
holdings: a library’s collection of works
I
imprint: in publishing the brand name under which a work is published. A single publishing company may have a number of imprints which are used to market the work to different types of customer
in press/to be published: in the process of being printed, but not yet available
in print: still being published and, therefore, available for purchase
information specialist: an information specialist provides expertise in acquiring, evaluating and searching information resources in all formats
Internet: an enormous world wide network of computer systems which links computes to other computers using TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) network protocols
IP Number/address: Internet Protocol Number; a 4-part number, separated by dots, which identifies a specific machine on the Internet
ISBN: International Standard Book Number; a unique numerical code given to a book to identify it
ISSN: International Standard Serial Number; a unique numerical code given to a serial (periodical / journal) to identify it
journal: academic journals are periodical publications in which researchers report the results of their work. Articles are usually peer reviewed. Trade journals, which, unlike academic journals, are not subject to peer review, also report scientific data but also routinely contain more technical and market type information as well as advertisements. Journals which contain only reviews of scientific results or subject areas are also available
keyword search: searching for works in an electronic catalog or index by using keywords
marked list: list of titles (records) found in a search that are marked by the user in some way (to be saved, e-mailed or printed)
M
metadata: structured, encoded information about resources (essentially “data about data”)
microfiche: a compact analog storage medium containing microfilmed images of pages, read with a microfilm reader and normally provided by libraries
monograph: a non-serial work, complete in one part or set, usually on a single topic
N
narrower term: a term that is more specific in meaning than the more general (broader) term it is related to in a hierarchical structure (Thesaurus). For example “School Libraries” is a narrower term than “Libraries”
open access: a model for journal publishing in which authors make their content freely available and archive it themselves. Costs of publishing are borne by authors or their funders
periodical: a serial (journal, magazine) which is published at regular intervals, is numbered, contains separate articles, and has no pre-determined end date
preprint: a portion of a work printed and distributed in advance of the publication date announced for the whole, for example, an article to be published in a periodical
primary literature: the original writings on a subject. Includes technical reports, conference literature, patents, theses, and journal articles
refereed journal: a journal in which articles have been evaluated by an independent expert in the field of research before acceptance for publication
reference: an indication of where to find specific information, for example, the references cited in scientific publications or bibliographic databases
reference works: materials such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and directories, which can be referred to for authoritative facts
refine search: limiting search results by tightening/narrowing the search strategy or parameters
related term: a descriptor/keyword closely related to another term conceptually but not hierarchically. For example, “books” is a related term for “libraries”
RSS: stands for either Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. It is a defined set of tags used primarily to syndicate new headlines or other website content
S
SDI: Selective Dissemination of Information: enables you to store a search profile and run it automatically each time a new update of a database is available
search engine: databases of web pages constructed automatically which enable searching of specific areas of the Internet
search results: a list of documents returned following a search request
secondary literature: material published about the primary literature (collections, reviews, popularizations, textbooks, encyclopedias, handbooks, etc.), and tools (abstracts, indexes, bibliographies) which point the user to primary sources
serial: a publication issued in successive parts, usually (though not always) at regular intervals, and intended to be continued indefinitely. Serials include: periodicals, newspapers, magazines, annuals, yearbooks, journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, and numbered monographic series
series: a group of separate items issued under a collective title, as well as under individual titles
set: a collection of references resulting from a search statement in a bibliographic database
SFX: a system for making direct links from references in databases and bibliographies
subject heading: a term, name, or phrase used as an access point in a catalog or index which is arranged by topic
subject search: to seek information by topic (as opposed to author or title)
thesaurus: a collection of terms (keywords/descriptors) chosen to describe a particular subject area; it reflects the relationships between the terms by describing broader, narrower and related terms and displays a hierarchical structure for the term groupings. It also contains synonyms
theses: the dissertations written by candidates for higher degrees (Masters and Doctoral Levels)
title search: to search for an item by using some or all of the words in its title
truncation: truncation is a symbol (* or ?) put at the end or in the middle of a word in order to catch all variant endings or spellings of that word when searching a database
URL: Uniform Resource Locator; an address that specifies the location or unique address of a file on the Internet