Published in 1992, like the first, this second edition is not intended as introductory textbook command-driven, Boolean searching. It is targeted at online searchers who already have some knowledge of command languages and may be proficient searchers on databases in one or two subject areas, but when required to venture into new and less familiar territory still need guidance. It is also offered to end users who possess the subject expertise but lack of information retrieval know-how. The Manual is offered as a guide to database selection and a navigational aid through the twists and turns of the retrieval maze; at least some of the dead ends and backtracking may thereby be avoided. This volume, written by experts in their various fields, deals with the subject coverage and record structures of specific databases, offers comparisons between databases (context, indexing procedures, updating policies, etc.), discusses the choice between online and CD-ROM sources (and between hosts if online is selected), and illustrates strategies with numerous search extracts.

Information Sources in Science and Technology: A Practical Guide to Traditional and Online Use presents a selection of traditional and online methods of using information sources in science and technology, including people, organizations, literature, hosts, and databases. This text serves as a reference book that helps the reader choose sources of information and their guides, includes a routine for finding and using information, and offers tips on searching and obtaining literature in a usable form. This book is comprised of nine chapters and begins by explaining how to choose type(s) of information source that is likely to be most helpful. The chapters that follow present guides on people, organizations, and literature as sources of information. A chapter on information services focuses on those organizations that supply information or references to information that could be helpful. These services range from answering telephone queries to supplying collections of relevant documents, and from broadcast television information to direct connection with computer databases. The next chapters discuss ways of searching the literature and computer databases, obtaining literature in a usable form, and organizing and presenting information. This book concludes by considering current awareness or keeping up-to-date with information about recent developments. This monograph is intended for librarians and information officers, especially for those working in scientific or industrial environments, practicing scientists and engineers, and students associated with these professions.

Women Online focuses on the problems of investigating interdisciplinary topics in women's studies, working with controlled vocabularies and inconsistent indexing, and locating feminist scholarship. The authoritative contributors to the book not only analyze these problems in general terms but also suggest practical strategies for making online research more effective and productive. The sixteen chapters in this much-needed book are organized into three broad categories covering disciplines, such as humanities and social sciences; format of the material covered, such as non-bibliographic and cited reference databases; and specific topics, such as lesbian studies and women of color. Chapter authors employ a variety of useful methods to analyze issues of coverage and content. They compare the results of controlled vocabulary and free-text or full-text searching and make use of search examples, cited reference and multi-file searching, and bibliometric techniques, including analysis of recall, precision, overlap, relevancy, uniqueness, and trends in file growth. The Database Matrix provides an alphabetical listing of files discussed in the book and serves as a directory for online research in women's studies. Women Online will be useful to librarians, scholars, and students who search databases, as well as to producers who design and market them.