Every database contains only certain types and amounts of
information, a characteristic called coverage. This information can
typically be found in the database itself under links such as "About
[name of database]," "Database information," "Title list," or "Sources,"
etc. Web-based databases are typically accessed from a link that is
annotated with some information about coverage. Databases published in
paper form normally locate this information in the front of each volume
or in an introduction.
|
Elements |
Example |
|
What kinds of documents?
|
Journals, magazines, books, book chapters, dissertations, audio
files, statistical tables, images, Web pages, software applications? |
|
Which disciplines? |
Sociology, music, chemistry, all, none? |
|
What time periods? |
The current year? 1960-1998? How often is the database updated?
Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, annually? |
|
What languages? |
English only? Other languages? |
|
Which publication types? |
Scholarly? Popular? Trade? All three? Others? |
|
What is included in the record? |
A whole article or chapter (full-text) or just a brief description
(bibliographic citation and abstract)? Publisher and title? |
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Module 3