12 Specialized Databases
- Bibliographic – details about published works
- Full-text – details plus the complete text of the items
- Multimedia – various types of media, such as images, audio clips, or video excerpts
- Directory – brief, factual information
- Numeric – data sources
- Mixed – a combination of other types, such as multimedia and full-text
Records and Fields
The information researchers usually see first after searching a database is the “records” for items contained in the database that also match what was asked for by the search.
Each record describes an item that can be retrieved and gives you enough information so that, hopefully, you can decide whether it should meet your information need. The descriptions are in categories that provide different types of information about the item, or “metadata.” The categories of metadata are organized into “fields.” Some fields may be empty of information for some items, and the fields that are available depend on the type of database.
A bibliographic database describes items such as articles, books, conference papers, etc. Common fields found in bibliographic database records are:
- Author.
- Title (of book, article, etc.).
- Source title (journal title, conference name, etc.).
- Date.
- Volume/issue.
- Pages.
- Abstract.
- Descriptive or subject terms.
When to Use Specialized Databases
Search specialized databases to uncover scholarly information that is not available through a regular web search. Specialized databases are especially helpful if you require a specific format or up-to-date, scholarly information on a specific topic.
Information about the specific subject range, format, or date range a particular specialized database covers is called its scope. A specialized database may be narrow or broad in scope, depending on whether it, for instance, contains materials on one or many subject areas. If you look at the list of databases licensed by UWM Libraries, you will see a description of the database that includes an idea of the scope of the contents.
Once you are aware of a database’s scope, you’ll be able to decide whether the database is likely to have what you want (for instance, journal articles as opposed to conference proceedings). Reading about the scope can save you time you would have otherwise wasted searching in databases that do not contain what you need.
Activity: Years of Coverage
In addition to subject scope, database descriptions should include years of coverage. Visit UWM Libraries’ Databases A-Z List to search for the databases listed below. Which database contains the oldest information? Which covers the fewest years?
- RILM
- Music Periodicals Database
- Music Index
