The National Institute of Mental Health created the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR) to accelerate autism knowledge through data sharing and collaboration. However, our experience using NDAR reveals systematic challenges across several aspects of data submission, selection, management, and analysis that limit utility of this resource.…

When searching for scholarly documents, researchers often stick with the same familiar handful of databases. Yet, just beyond these limited horizons lie dozens of alternatives with which they could search more effectively, whether for quick lookups or thorough searches in systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Searchsmart.org is a free website that…

In various research areas, the availability of open datasets is considered as key for research and application purposes. These datasets are used as benchmarks to develop new algorithms and to compare them to other algorithms in given settings. Finding such available datasets for experimentation can be a challenging task in technology enhanced…

Presents some advantages (saves time, more current, greater depth and precision of search) and disadvantages (cost, unavailability of older articles) of computerized searching and describes 14 databases in the area of psychology. (Author/JDH)

Step-by-step instructions for locating material in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database are provided. Following an introduction, information is presented in three main sections--manual searching, computer searching, and using search results. Subdivisions under manual searching describe who can or should do a manual search…

Presents a review, an analysis, and a projection of the use of machine-readable databases, including online search and support services, and emphasizes the application of bibliographic databases for special libraries. More than 40 references are cited. (FM)

Traces the increasing use of databases and computerized records of government agencies in newsrooms during the 1980s. Reports on a national survey showing that most journalism education programs do not prepare students to use these rich sources of information now routinely used in the newsroom. (SR)

Offers a rationale to justify compilation and publication of an annual summary of reading research reports. (AEA)

This presented paper offers an elementary description of database characteristics and then provides a survey of databases that may be useful to the teacher and researcher in Slavic and East European languages and literatures. The survey focuses on commercial databases that are available, usable, and needed. Individual databases discussed include:…

The workshop is intended for individual or group use to understand the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and the Exceptional Child Education Resources (ECER) databases as a way of finding information on special education topics. Information products available from ERIC and The Council for Exceptional Children (which maintains the…

Describes database and index design and data collection methods for compilation of the National Tune Index, a comprehensive, multifaceted tool for research in and analysis of eighteenth century American and British secular music, restoration of early American theater works, and identification of specific tune or text fragments. (MBR)

Information Dissemination Centers have emerged as brokers or retailers for computer-based information retrieval services. Areas which concern users and suppliers are the nature of data bases available for search, retrieval results and factors affecting them, timeliness of services, cost and prices, and practical operational considerations related…

Discusses some widely available spatially referenced datasets, including raster and vector datasets. Strategies for improving accessibility include: acquisition of data in a software-dependent format; reorganization of data into logical geographic units; acquisition of intelligent retrieval software; improving computer hardware; and intelligent…

Discusses how educators can access the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database online to review summaries of more than 900,000 documents and journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, and books. Key search terms are provided, along with different access points. (CR)

One response to the large and rapidly growing number of legal cases with which nonlawyer researchers must deal is computerized legal data retrieval technology. LEXIS, an example of such technology, improves upon traditional research tools in two ways: it increases the speed with which researchers may discover relevant documents and, through its…