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.…

Open access institutional repositories can be ill-equipped to manage the complexity of research outputs from departments of fine arts, media, drama, music, cultural heritage, and the creative arts in general. The U.K.-based Kultur project was funded to create a flexible multimedia repository model using EPrints software. The project launched the…

Discovery layers provide a simplified interface for searching library resources. Libraries with limited finances make decisions about retaining indexing and abstracting databases when similar information is available in discovery layers. These decisions should be informed by student success at finding quality information as well as satisfaction…

This article presents a process for utilizing a bibliographic system built with Microsoft Excel as well as concept maps to organize and to synthesize information that can be included in a literature review. A review of the conceptual framework behind these tools is included as well as a detailed description about how to build the system in Excel.…

Researchers are often distressed to discover that the data they wanted to use in their landmark study is not configured in a way that is usable by a Statistical Analysis Software Package (SASP). For example, the data needed may come from two or more sources and it may not be clear to the researcher how to get them combined into one analyzable…

Librarians have long struggled to find user-friendly mediums to provide meaningful information to patrons using bibliographies, pathfinders, and subject guides with varying degrees of success. Content management systems, such as Springshare's LibGuides, have recently been developed to facilitate the creation of online subject guides. Special…

This article discusses Research Blogging, a community-run nonprofit organization that is promoting a suite of blogging software to scholars. Research Blogging itself does two things. First, it extends an invitation to a community, and it is open to anyone. Second, it requires its users to follow guidelines. The combination of rigorous guidelines…

This discussion of the development of database management systems specifically created to support qualitative research identifies two main problems in qualitative approaches, i.e., the issues of data collection and analysis, and the cumbersome nature of traditional qualitative approaches. These problems are reviewed with a comparison of the…

This article describes the World Wide Web (WWW) Entrez server which is based upon the National Center for Biotechnology Information's (NCBI) Entrez retrieval database and software. Entrez is a molecular sequence retrieval system that contains an integrated view of portions of Medline and all publicly available nucleotide and protein databases,…

A project at Brown University has developed a set of application and system software that provides access to a database of Classical Greek literature which is stored on a CD-ROM. Information on the origins of the project is provided and the technical development of the system is described in detail, including the creation of Classical Greek fonts,…

This report describes and illustrates the Northwest Regional Laboratory's (NWREL) Database and School Profiling project. Uses and implications for future data assembly and database design activities are explained. Analysis of the database has impacted evaluation and policymaking activities regarding at-risk youth, rural education, early childhood…

Describes a project at the University of Guelph (Ontario) that combined both bibliographical and archival references in one large machine readable database to facilitate local history research. The description covers research tool creation, planning activities, system design, the database management system used, material selection, record…

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is one of the major bibliographic databases in the world. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Tests, Measurement, and Evaluation (ERIC/TM) contributes to this database by acquiring, selecting, and processing documents pertaining to all aspects of testing, evaluation, and learning theory. The ERIC/TM has…

This interview with Bertrum MacDonald discusses the decisions that determined the character of a national bibliography on science and technology in Canadian history. Topics discussed include the scope of the project; classification and indexing decisions; the database management system used; unexpected problems; and predicted usage of the…

Implan (Impact Analysis for Planning) is a microcomputer-based system for constructing regional economic accounts and input-output tables. It is currently maintained by the U.S. Forest Service at the Fort Collins Computer Center (Colorado) with assistance from the University of Minnesota. It provides software capabilities and a data base for…