SEARCHING PERIODICAL DATABASES
A periodical index is a tool that enables the researcher to pinpoint relevant articles published in a wide array of different magazines and periodicals. Print versions of the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature and Business Periodicals Index have saved researchers countless hours of time and frustration, but still required an additional step of retrieving the actual article itself.
With computers, searching and retrieval can be combined into one process, and today’s periodical databases have expanded to include the complete full text of many–sometimes all–of the cited articles in a database.
Many business libraries will have at least one of the following periodical databases which can be used as an index to locate articles on a specific topic. These are subscription databases that are usually too costly for individuals to consider. Independent researchers and professional information brokers often subscribe to search systems that offer numerous periodical databases at transactional pricing, such as those discussed below in the section “Specialized Business Search Systems.” Although each of the databases listed here has a different navigational system or “front-end software,” most offer similar features.
Like online library catalogs, they are structured databases that segment individual units of information about the article into “fields.” This makes searching more reliable than it is on the Web, but it also requires some knowledge and skill to search effectively. Once learned, these search skills transfer readily to many different databases.
A periodical index is a tool that enables the researcher to pinpoint relevant articles published in a wide array of different magazines and periodicals. Print versions of the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature and Business Periodicals Index have saved researchers countless hours of time and frustration, but still required an additional step of retrieving the actual article itself.
With computers, searching and retrieval can be combined into one process, and today’s periodical databases have expanded to include the complete full text of many–sometimes all–of the cited articles in a database.
Many business libraries will have at least one of the following periodical databases which can be used as an index to locate articles on a specific topic. These are subscription databases that are usually too costly for individuals to consider. Independent researchers and professional information brokers often subscribe to search systems that offer numerous periodical databases at transactional pricing, such as those discussed below in the section “Specialized Business Search Systems.” Although each of the databases listed here has a different navigational system or “front-end software,” most offer similar features.
Like online library catalogs, they are structured databases that segment individual units of information about the article into “fields.” This makes searching more reliable than it is on the Web, but it also requires some knowledge and skill to search effectively. Once learned, these search skills transfer readily to many different databases.
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