This week I delved into DIALOG. As I learned in our initial "research a vendor" assignment on Blackboard, DIALOG was recently acquired from Reuters by ProQuest. It seems as though the database is meant to be a catch-all for several resources. This database's interface is unlike any other I have searched in thus far. When looking at the search box from the home screen, there is the interesting option of limiting your search to a particular industry. I suppose because the database is so massive, designers have thought to include this option to help limit content and make information more manageable. As a reminder, my topic revolves around how people with disabilities access information and the typical barriers they face in doing so. Not being exactly sure where this would fit as far as industries were concerned, I chose education deciding that it would be the closest match for the type of information I was seeking.
For my search, I decided to use the following search terms: (disabilit*) AND (librar*) AND (online) AND (access). My first search yielded an impressive 173 results!
While many of the results above were relevant to my topic, I wanted to see if I could narrow my results to a specific set that was closely tied to what I was trying to research. Based on looking at some of the linked terms included with the articles, I decided to modify my search further. I scrapped the terms "online" and "access" and replaced them with more database-friendly vocabulary. The terms "accessibility" and "universal design" were used instead. This narrowed my results considerably to 15 results.
The results were considerably more targeted. Though there were many applicable articles, I chose the article below as the best of the results found. I want to focus on academic library work for my future career and I felt that the following article best fit this environment.
Unfortunately, this article was found not to have full-text available. I attempted to examine the most next applicable article, represented below. It proved to have full-text available from ERIC.
One other feature I decided to try on DIALOG was a
"command string" search. A command line search allows one to build a
specific string of terms with user-defined operators. ProQuest only searches within
these parameters. This allows the user a greater level of fine-tuning in their
search and does not require them to enter their information in several search
boxes (as it does in the “advanced search” option). To my knowledge, this is
the first database I have tried with this feature. As you can see, I attempted
to build in several search "codes" such as "LA" for
language or "YR" for the publishing dates that I wanted to limit my
articles to.
The “command line” search offered me a much greater degree
of specificity than my initial search. Perhaps it allowed my search to become
too specific, because I retrieved far fewer results, only 6 in total
(the first two appeared to be duplicates). The fourth result seemed puzzling as
to why it was included. It did not mention a single one of my search terms
(other than the word library, I suppose). The last result at least
mentions ADA requirements in the designing of a library building, but I was
unable to find any applicable information in the “feminist” article. I chose
the fifth result for my most accurate one.
Command
line searches are probably best for someone who is both well versed in the
different codes required or who is looking for something very specific. Perhaps
I just took the use of commands too far and it limited my search as a result. I
did find my search was faster for me than trying to find and check all of the
limiter boxes, however.
What did I learn this week?
Content:
Content-wise, I learned about the existence of an organization called DO-IT. I had not heard of this organization prior to finding this research. According to Blue and Pace (2011), "When it comes to applying UD in library spaces, the Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology organization has become the leading force." The purpose of DO-IT is to use technology to help individuals with disabilities achieve greater levels of independence. The website is run by the University of Washington (http://www.washington.edu/doit/) and includes pamphlets, videos, and information sheets about common barriers that people with disabilities face and suggestions for designing buildings, websites, and much more. I think that this website is an excellent resource for any library wishing to improve the accessibility of their services to their patrons.
Searching:
As far as the database and searching in general is concerned, I learned about the existence of proximity limiters. I had never used that in any of my previous searches. A proximity limiter allows one to search for two terms within a certain number of word of each other (see an example in my command line search above) using the operator NEAR/n (n being the number of words the second term should fall within). I also learned about how to build a command line search. Codes of different operators were listed on DIALOG's ProSHEETs. Each code corresponded to a different limiter. For example, PBLOC allows a user to search by the publication's location. I really enjoyed learning how to build command line searches and use ProSHEET codes. I found my searches to be much quicker than if I were using drop-down menus on the "advanced search" page.
Reflections:
What did I learn this week?
Content:
Content-wise, I learned about the existence of an organization called DO-IT. I had not heard of this organization prior to finding this research. According to Blue and Pace (2011), "When it comes to applying UD in library spaces, the Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology organization has become the leading force." The purpose of DO-IT is to use technology to help individuals with disabilities achieve greater levels of independence. The website is run by the University of Washington (http://www.washington.edu/doit/) and includes pamphlets, videos, and information sheets about common barriers that people with disabilities face and suggestions for designing buildings, websites, and much more. I think that this website is an excellent resource for any library wishing to improve the accessibility of their services to their patrons.
Searching:
As far as the database and searching in general is concerned, I learned about the existence of proximity limiters. I had never used that in any of my previous searches. A proximity limiter allows one to search for two terms within a certain number of word of each other (see an example in my command line search above) using the operator NEAR/n (n being the number of words the second term should fall within). I also learned about how to build a command line search. Codes of different operators were listed on DIALOG's ProSHEETs. Each code corresponded to a different limiter. For example, PBLOC allows a user to search by the publication's location. I really enjoyed learning how to build command line searches and use ProSHEET codes. I found my searches to be much quicker than if I were using drop-down menus on the "advanced search" page.
Reflections:
Would I use DIALOG again?
The main issue I take with DIALOG is that it is just so massive. Searches usually yield an overwhelming number of results and it takes a lot of specific limiters to narrow them below a double-digit number. Talk about information overload! To be fair, ProQuest has attempted to address this somewhat by grouping certain databases by industry. I like their use of pictures to easily convey each industry. However, what if your topic fits in multiple industries? What if it does not fit well into any of the industries chosen? I do like this interface for newer users who may not be familiar with the types of databases in existence. For me, however, I think I would much rather just search a specific database for my topic like ERIC. I could see using it to recommend to students or patrons who are newer to searching, however. I also really like the command line search feature!
Ideas for future searches
I would like to go back to the other databases I have already covered and see if they also include proximity searching. I know that commands can often differ from database-to-database, so perhaps I missed them because they do not use the same "NEAR/n" command. I would also like to test this feature in future searches of other databases to determine if it helps better target my searches. I will be on the lookout to try other command line-type searches and will compare them to one another between databases. I would like to hone my ability at using command line searches because I find it faster and easier for me to use, so long as I am able to learn the specific sets of commands commonly found in that particular database.
Again, sorry for the brief gap in updates. I am feeling much better and have gotten so huge projects behind me! You should be seeing more frequent updates now.
As always, feel free to message me, comment, or otherwise drop me a line if you find this interesting or have any tips for what I should do in future searches! I look forward to hearing from you!
- Crystal
References:
The main issue I take with DIALOG is that it is just so massive. Searches usually yield an overwhelming number of results and it takes a lot of specific limiters to narrow them below a double-digit number. Talk about information overload! To be fair, ProQuest has attempted to address this somewhat by grouping certain databases by industry. I like their use of pictures to easily convey each industry. However, what if your topic fits in multiple industries? What if it does not fit well into any of the industries chosen? I do like this interface for newer users who may not be familiar with the types of databases in existence. For me, however, I think I would much rather just search a specific database for my topic like ERIC. I could see using it to recommend to students or patrons who are newer to searching, however. I also really like the command line search feature!
Ideas for future searches
I would like to go back to the other databases I have already covered and see if they also include proximity searching. I know that commands can often differ from database-to-database, so perhaps I missed them because they do not use the same "NEAR/n" command. I would also like to test this feature in future searches of other databases to determine if it helps better target my searches. I will be on the lookout to try other command line-type searches and will compare them to one another between databases. I would like to hone my ability at using command line searches because I find it faster and easier for me to use, so long as I am able to learn the specific sets of commands commonly found in that particular database.
Again, sorry for the brief gap in updates. I am feeling much better and have gotten so huge projects behind me! You should be seeing more frequent updates now.
As always, feel free to message me, comment, or otherwise drop me a line if you find this interesting or have any tips for what I should do in future searches! I look forward to hearing from you!
- Crystal
References:
Blue, Elfreda V., and Darra Pace. 2011. "UD and UDL:
Paving the Way Toward Inclusion and Independence in the School Library."
Knowledge Quest 39, no. 3: 48-55. ERIC,
ProQuest DIALOG (accessed October 13, 2014).
No comments:
Post a Comment