|
ELECTRONIC DATABASES
|
PRINT INDEXES
|
| Sometimes have
full-text |
Never have
full-text |
| Some subject areas
are covered only by electronic databases |
Some subject areas
are covered mainly by print indexes |
| Are updated more
quickly than print indexes |
Are updated less
frequently than electronic databases |
| Do not go back as
far as print indexes |
Cover a longer
range of years than electronic databases do |
| Can search several
years all at once, so search takes less time |
Must search one
year or a portion of a year, one volume at a time |
| Can search a word
or phrase found in the subject, title or abstract = several
access points |
Search is usually
limited to a word or phrase which is the official subject
heading recognized by the index |
| Can search several
concepts all at once using Boolean and or Boolean or
(Examples: math and homework, women or females) |
Can search only
one concept at a time, must then read the article title or
abstract to see if the article covers the other concepts of
interest to you |
| Can use truncation
(Example: handicap* picks up all forms of the word
"handicap", such as handicap, handicaps, handicapped,
etc.) |
Cannot use
truncation; instead you must look up each form of the word
separately |
| Some
databases can be searched off campus via home computers |
Print indexes
must be used in the Library building |
| Works
when computer system works |
Can use
if computer system is down |
