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ComAbstracts & Web of Science:These Databases Just Got Better
Carolyn Mills
It is a bit of a misnomer to call the library's latest
database acquisitions "new." Both have existed in the library for
some time, but in different formats. However, the networked, web
accessible versions are indeed "new and improved."ComAbstracts is
a continuation of the printed index Communication Abstracts. It
is a product of the Communication Institute for Online
Scholarship, an organization supporting the use of computer
technologies in communication scholarship and education.
ComAbstracts contains bibliographic citations and abstracts of
the primary literature in the communications field. Coverage
varies by journal title but generally extends back to the late
eighties or early nineties. The database is available through the
"Databases by Title" link on the library's homepage.Web of
Science, a clever but misleading name, is much more than just
another science database. This product is a combination of three
separate and important databases, Science Citation Index, Social
Science Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index.
The library has had print and CD-ROM access to the science and
social science sections for many years. The new web version of
the combined indexes goes back to 1994.Web of Science is an
exceptionally valuable tool for research. A good source for
bibliographic searching in many subject areas, it has the added
advantage of allowing a user to search across traditional, and
sometimes arbitrary, disciplinary lines. This opens up the
possibility of locating new and related information in subject
areas one might not consider searching. The database producer,
ISI, indexes the top journals in all major academic disciplines,
defining the top journals as those cited most often by their peer
titles.In addition to the advantages it offers for bibliographic
searching, Web of Science is also unique in its approach to
citation searching. Researchers are offered three
options:
1) they can locate the list of references for the research
upon which an article is based
2) they can track who has cited an article since it was
written
3) they can search for related records, those which share
references in common, on the theory that articles sharing
references also share subject content. Citation searching allows
users to track research through time and across disciplines. In
addition, for the first time, users can do citation searching by
multiple authors, not just first author, for those records
actually held in the electronic database. For older records not
stored in the database, first author searching is still a
limitation.Web of Science is available to any user within the
UConn domain. You can find it on the library's home page
(www.lib.uconn.edu) by clicking on "Shortcuts" on
the left side of the screen; then highlighting Web of Science. A
link to the database is also provided via the "Databases by
Title" list on the webpage. Web of Science instruction will be
included in the Electronic Workshops provided by the library each
semester. You owe it to yourself to check out this new and very
helpful database.Carolyn Mills is a reference librarian and
liaison to the Biological Sciences.
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