INFORMATION LITERACY GLOSSARY

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

-A-

Abstract - Summary of an article or book. Databases may include abstracts of articles. An abstract is usually no longer than a paragraph.

Accuracy - A judgment about the truthfulness and correctness of an information source. How information is gathered, grammar and spelling can all impact a source’s accuracy. Evaluate accuracy by comparing the information source with authoritative sources for similar information.

Annotation - A critical or explanatory note about an information resource that follows a citation in a bibliography. Annotations generally include: a description of the source; a summary of key points presented and an evaluation of the source.
See also: Bibliographic Citation, Bibliography

Annual - A publication issued yearly.

Application - A software program used for a specific task, i.e. word processing.

Authority - The authority of a source may be determined by its author and his/her credentials in the discipline they are writing.

-B-

Bias - Personal beliefs, opinions, or attitudes that prevent impartial consideration about a particular topic.
See also: Objectivity

Bibliography - A list of books, articles, or other sources (interviews, films) on a particular subject. Bibliographies may be found at the end of books or articles, or may be separate publications.

Bibliographic citation - Information that identifies a book or journal article. Information for a book usually includes the author, title, publisher, and date. The citation for an article includes the author, title of the article, title of the periodical, volume, pages, and date. Some databases contain only citations to books and articles.

Boolean logic - Use of operators AND, OR, NOT to combine search terms. (see KEYWORDS/KEYWORD SEARCHING).

  • AND means that both words you type must be included in search, such as "T-SHIRT and JEANS"
  • OR means that either one word, or the other word, or both words can be included. " JEANS or SKIRT"
  • Not means to exclude a word from your search, "JEANS not BLUE JEANS".

Bound - Refers to several issues of a periodical that are joined together under one cover. Bound periodicals are shelved in the Periodicals Room on the second floor of McQuade Library.

-C-

Call number - A group of letters and numbers given to an item that is used to arrange materials in the library and describe their location. The Library of Congress System (LC call number) is used for materials in the McQuade Library; an example: PN 171 .F56 L5 1996
See also: Library of Congress Classification

Catalog - A computerized catalog that contains records for most items contained in the McQuade Library See also: Online Public Catalog

Citation - same as bibliographic citation

Controlled vocabulary - Subject search terms precisely defined by indexers of a given index. Use of a controlled vocabulary permits the searcher to find everything in the product related to that controlled vocabulary term.
See also: Subject headings

Copyright - The exclusive ownership and right to make use of a literary, musical or artistic work protected by law. Copyrighted materials may be used for educational purposes provided so-called "fair-use" guidelines are observed.

Cumulative index - An index that usually covers several months or years and in which previously published indexes are combined into one volume.

Currency An evaluation of how up-to-date an information source is. Currency may be highly important depending upon the subject searched or the specific information need.

Current periodical
The most recent issue of a journal or magazine.

-D-

Database - A computer program that indexes information, organizes it and describes it. A database permits the user to search for specific types of information depending upon the search parameters the user selects.
See also: index

 

Directory - An information source listing names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

Domain Name - Domain name is the part of the Internet or email address that describes the location of the host computer. Common domains are:

  • .com = commercial
  • .edu = educational institution
  • .gov = governmental
  • .org = organization
  • .net = network
  • .mil = military

-F-

Field - In a database, records are divided up into separate parts, called Fields. A field in a database record tells you one kind of information, such as the author's name or the journal name or the subject of the article. In most databases you can fine-tune your search by instructing the database to search for information by looking in a particular field. Most fields are abbreviated. For example, you can do a search for "glaciers" in the journal "Natural History" in some databases by typing in the search "glaciers and jn=natural History".

Field Limiting - Requiring that a keyword or phrase appear in a specific field of documents retrieved. Most often used to limit to the "Title" field in order to find documents primarily about one or more keywords.

Full text - Full text indicates that a particular database provides the entire textual content of an article or document.  Some databases provide only citations or abstracts, while others provide the full text.

Fuzzy "AND" - When results are ranked in a database (most usually occurs with web search engines), documents with any terms (Boolean OR) are retrieved, but documents with all terms (Boolean AND) are ranked first on the list.

-H-

Holdings - A statement describing the specific range of issues the library owns of a particular periodical title.  Usually expressed as a range including the years and the volume numbers. OR The group of items (books, journals, magazines) included in a library. When a database has holdings information that means it can tell you which libraries own the items listed.

-I-

Index - A list of subjects, names, titles, etc. that helps you to locate information. A periodical index lists articles by subject or author. A book index is a list at the end of a book that gives pages numbers where names and subjects can be found in the book.

Intellectual Property - The creative original work of a person or persons. It is protected by copyright law.

Interlibrary loan - Interlibrary loan, ILL, is a service which allows people to obtain books and journal articles which are not owned by their library. You can submit an ILL request directly through the library's online form, or you can fill out a paper request form. Forms are available at the reference desk.

Issue number - Issue number is used in conjunction with the volume number to indicate a specific magazine or journal issue. For example, v87 n2 is the February, 1997, issue of The American Journal of Public Health

-J-

Journal - A subject-specific, scholarly periodical. OR A publication which has scholarly information, usually written by professors, researchers, or experts in a subject area, and not intended for the general public.
See Also: Magazine, Periodical, Scholarly sources, Serial

-K-

Keywords - Any words, phrases, or synonyms you think describe your topic. Searching by keywords is less precise than searching by subject headings; however, keyword searching is very useful when you do not know a subject heading.
See Also: Controlled vocabulary, Subject headings

-L-

Library of Congress classification - A system of organizing materials in the library by subject so that all the resources on the same general topic are on the shelves together. This type of organization allows you to browse the shelves for more information.
Or
Special vocabulary, or subject headings that can be used to find information in a card catalog or online catalog. The most recent LC Subject Headings directories are on tables opposite the reference desk.

-M-

Magazine - A general-readership, popular periodical.
See Also: Journal, Periodical, Popular sources, Serial

MetaSearch
An Internet search tool that simultaneously searches multiple search engines or directories

Microforms - Microfiche (4 by 6 inch cards) and microfilm (a roll of film); printed items which have been reduced in size by photographic methods to save space.

Monograph - A book.

-N-

Natural Language - A type of searching that uses everyday language in the form of a question as input.

-O-

Objectivity - A judgment of how fairly and equally an information source treats all sides of a topic. An objective source relies on facts rather than opinions or beliefs.
See Also: Bias

Online resources - Sources such as databases and WWW sites that are available through a network or through the Internet. The Library purchases subscriptions to various on-line resources that allow library users to look up information in databases.

Online public catalog - A computer system indexing all the materials held by an individual library. Also called an OPAC.

-P-

Periodical - Any publication printed on a regular, predictable schedule. A periodical may be published weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.
See Also: Journal, Magazine, Serial

Periodical index - A subject listing of what articles have been published in what magazines and journals. Some periodical indexes are general in scope and others are subject-specific.

Phrase searching - Allows you, in a database - to search for particular words in a particular order. Useful for proper names, names of companies and names of government departments. Most phrase searches should be in quotations, such as "Department of Justice".

Plagiarism - Stealing someone else's ideas or information and presenting them as your own.

Popular sources - Popular sources are books and magazine articles written for the general public. See Also: Scholarly sources, Trade publications

Primary sources - Primary sources are results of experiments or original research, literary works, autobiographies, original theories, and other materials.
See Also: Secondary sources

Proximity - Some search tools use proximity of two or more search terms to determine relevancy of a result.

-Q-

Query - A query means a question, but it is often used to refer to a search you type in a database or web search engine.

-R-

Record - In a database, information about one item is stored as a "record". For example, all the information such as the title, author, and publisher of a book is referred to as the book's "record". Records are made up of several fields, or distinct parts.

Refereed - As in 'refereed journal' or 'refereed publication'.  Some journals use an editorial board to review submitted manuscripts to insure that they meet rigorous academic standards of excellence and quality.

Results ranking - The order in which search results appear. Each search tool uses its own unique algorithm. Most use "fuzzy and" combined with factors such as how often your terms appear in the document, how near the top of the text they are, and whether they are words in the title. Ranking is automatic in almost all systems.

-S-

Scholarly sources - A journal that is refereed - that is, experts in an academic field make up an editorial board that reviews all articles before they are accepted for publication. Scholarly journals contain articles written by researchers doing original work in a subject field. These articles contain bibliographic references to other articles and sources. Most scholarly journals are devoted to a particular topic. For example, The Journal of Neurology or Renaissance Quarterly are two scholarly journals.
 See Also: Popular sources, Trade publications

Search strategy - A plan for conducting information research. A search strategy includes a list of databases and indexes to search, a list of keywords and subject headings relevant to the topic, and knowledge of how to enter the search into the database or index.

Secondary sources - Sources compiling or critiquing original works. Examples of secondary sources include literary criticism, biographies, encyclopedia articles, and journal articles critiquing the work of others.
See Also: Primary sources

Search tools - A generic term that includes all types of Internet search tools, including search engines, directories, and metasearchers.

Serial - Any publication printed on an ongoing basis. Magazines, journals, annual reviews, and almanacs are examples of serials.
See Also: Journal, Magazine

Subject headings - Precisely defined terms and phrases assigned to materials in an index. When you search on a subject heading, you will locate all the materials relevant to that subject. You may also find subdivisions of the subject heading and cross references to other related subject headings.
See Also: Controlled vocabulary, Keywords

-T-

Thesaurus - Refers to a book and a database feature. The book lists alternate terms with similar meanings to the one you look up. In a database, a thesaurus uses the terms you choose to search on to lead you to other terms you may not have considered (related terms). While the book-type thesaurus presents you with a larger variety of words to choose from, the goal of a database thesaurus is to "funnel" your search into the unique, official language of the database "subject headings". For example, a database thesaurus might suggest that you use "automobiles" instead of the words car, cars, autos, vehicles, etc.

Trade publications - Periodical articles and books written for and by people working in specific trade occupations. Examples of trade publications are periodicals for construction, mechanics, and automotive repair.
See Also: Popular sources, Scholarly sources

Truncation - To search for the root of a word or for variations in the spelling of a word. Usually you must use a symbol to tell the computer to truncate, and the symbol varies according to the computer system you are using. For example, to search for disease or diseases, you might type: disease+.
Or
In a search, the ability to enter the first part of a keyword, insert a symbol (usually *), and accept any variant spellings or word endings, from the occurrence of the symbol forward. (E.g., librar* retrieves library, libraries, librarian, librarians, etc.)

-U-

URL - Uniform Resource Locator, is the standard address form for any resource on the Web. A typical URL looks like this: <http://www.hostcomputer.domain/document.html>
For example: http://www.noblenet.org/merrimack

-V-

Volume number - In relation to periodicals, volume number refers to all the issues of a specific journal or magazine for a limited time period, usually one year. For books, volume indicates the order of a book in a series or set.
See Also: Issue number

Adapted from the Farmingdale State Greenley Library Reference Department Information Literacy Glossary and the York College of Pennsylvania Information Literacy Glossary of Terms.