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IV. KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Because Web search tools access only a small part of the total
information available on the Internet, it is wise to start your
research using indexes and catalogs.
- Indexes and catalogs available through the Internet are often
called Internet databases or online databases.
- Periodical indexes and library book catalogs fall into the bibliographic
database category.
- Bibliographic databases are composed of thousands (or millions)
of
bibliographic records.
- Bibliographic records are detailed descriptions of a book, article,
or other
document. Every record is composed of categories of information
called
fields.
There are 4 basic methods of searching bibliographic databases:
AUTHOR: when you are looking for a book or
article written by a specific author
TITLE: when you are looking for a book or article
and you know the exact title, or even just a few words from
the title
SUBJECT: searching according to standardized,
approved words known as subject headings
KEYWORD: allows you to dispense with subject
headings and search by your own “keywords”. Also
gives you the option of combing keywords using logical
operators.
-
A major drawback of keyword searching is the high probability
of retrieving
false hits.
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