What is a Database? - Activity 2

Introduction | Prep | Presentation | Activity 1 | Activity 2

Follow a citation from paper to screen (20 minutes)

This activity takes you deep into the history of how scholarly literature is indexed.

You will compare a scholarly index’s print version to its online counterpart, and then compare that information to what you can find in a library discovery layer. 

This process will help you better understand:

  • How a scholarly index is different from a discovery layer
  • Why there is so much variation in online search options
  • How online indexes are shaped by decades’ worth of indexes published in print format

Scholarly indexes are designed to help you identify all of the relevant academic literature on a given topic.

Most originated in print format, often published once a year. Researchers consulted each volume in turn in order to compile a multi-year bibliography of relevant literature on their topic. Computers revolutionized this process, allowing you to search across all of the data at once. And then the Internet made it possible for you to search the database from anywhere, as well as for the database to be updated very frequently.

An online database contains a lot of legacy information: citations that were first published in the print index and later copied into the online index. This information was originally designed to be easy to find by flipping through the pages of the print index, and you can still find some of the traces of that design in the online version.

Illustrated example: citation from paper to screen

Citation

Gough, Kathleen. "Polymorphous Playboys: Irish–Caribbean Shadow Dancing." Modern Drama, vol. 48, no. 4, 2005, pp. 777-799

Print index: the MLA International Bibliography

“Classified Sequence”

Chapter: English Caribbean literature

Subsection: Trinidad and Tobago literature

Subsection: 1900-1999

Heading: Matura, Mustapha

Subheading: Drama/Playboy of the West Indies (1988)

[12373] Gough, Kathleen M. “Polymorphous Playboys: Irish-Caribbean Shadow Dancing.” MD. 2005 Winter; 48(4): 777-99 [Treatment of the carnivalesque; relationship to British colonialism in adaptation of Synge, John Millington: The Playboy of the Western World.]

What to notice: In this part of the index, information is organized by region - broad regions, specific nations, then by time period within that national literature. Each citation is preceded by a 5-digit reference number. The citation is given with full publication details, though the journal title is often abbreviated. The index lists each item only once in this section, by design. So even if a citation is relevant to multiple national literatures, it will only be listed under one of them.

Subject Index

Polymorphous Playboys is listed under the following subjects:

  • Adaptation
  • British Colonialism
  • The Carnivalesque
  • Matura, Mustapha
  • Synge, John Millington 

What to notice: In this part of the index, information is organized by topic. Subjects are listed in alphabetical order. Under each subject, there are sections for different national literatures and time periods, corresponding to the sections and subsections found in the classified section. Citations are listed by reference number only: the user is expected to use that number to find the entry in the classified section that provides full citation details. Each entry also identifies the other subjects assigned to that same item. “Polymorphous Playboys” is identified as 12373 and listed under: Trinidad and Tobago literature. Drama. 1900-1999. > Matura, Mustapha. Playboy of the West Indies.

Online database: the MLA International Bibliography

  • Each subject corresponds to a single piece of information from the print index: chapter title, heading, subheading, subjects
  • There is a National Literature Classification section with metadata fields that derive from the headings and subheadings of the print index's classified sequence: Subject Literature, [Time] Period, Primary Subject Work, Primary Subject Author, Genre
  • There is a separate Subject Terms section: the entries here match the subjects from the print index

What to notice: The subject terms are indexed for search. So, for example you could search for all the entries about 20th century drama, from any nation's literature. In the print index, you would have to choose a national literature first, then time period, then genre, and compile results from multiple places in the book. The online database also includes data from all of the many volumes of print index. This means that instead of checking each year of the index in turn, you can run a single search to get results from all of the entries that the MLA has indexed since 1922. Notice also that the information in this entry is copyrighted by the MLA, which means that a discovery layer needs permission to use the information in its own search index.

Discovery layer

UK: search InfoKat Discovery for "polymorphous playboys" Links to an external site.

Kenyon College: search K-Search for "polymorphous playboys" Links to an external site. (note: use the Quick Look button to access citation details)

WorldCat: search WorldCat for “Polymorphous Playboys” Links to an external site.

  • Most discovery layers have two records for this article, with different subjects (or no subjects!) and a different abstract and summary
  • Subjects are listed as a single list - much of the structure of the print index and subject database has been flattened out

What to notice: There seems to be a mix of subject terms: some match those found in the MLA International Bibliography, like 1900-1999 and British colonialism, while others seems to come from a different source, like historical drama and comparative analysis. A discovery layer record often merges information from multiple sources into a single record. You may encounter merging errors, such as information that seems to be about a different publication, or a mashup subject heading like Synge, Matura, J.M.. (John Millington),, Mustapha.

A discovery layer also does not maintain separate metadata fields for, e.g. Genre or Primary Subject Author: all subjects are listed as "subject."  In the MLA index, it is clear that Playboy of the West Indies is an adaptation of Playboy of the Western World, and that Mustapha Matura's work is the primary subject of the article. In the discovery layer, the relationships among the subject terms are no longer clear.

Reflection questions: print index, online database, and discovery layer

Reflect on some of the differences you noticed in the illustrated example.

You can use these same questions to explore a print index you find on your own.

Your goal is to compare the three formats:

  • What kind of information is the same? What changes? 
  • What nuances are lost or gained?
  • How does the structure of the information change?

Notice the structure of the print index: 

  • What chapter is your citation in? 
  • What headings and subheadings is your citation under?
  • Are there index lists? Is your citation listed under more than one spot in the indexes? 

Notice the structure of the database:

  • What metadata fields are here?
  • What has carried over from the print? 
  • Does the electronic format allow for options that the paper version doesn’t?

Notice the structure of the discovery layer:

  • What metadata fields are here?
  • Can you find your citation? If yes, does it seem to be coming from the subject database you investigated?

    Note: if the citation seems very different, it might be coming into the discovery layer from another source. Typically the alternate source is a publisher, but it can also be a competitor database. Sometimes you will find clues like a vendor logo or source name, sometimes there’s no way to tell for sure.

Reflect on how these systems impact the research experience:

  • For the online systems, what kind of a research question would motivate you to run a search whose results would include this citation?

    Bonus: Can you find a combination of keywords and filters that puts your citation into the top 20 results? 

  • For the print index: what question might motivate you to turn to the page where you found your citation? 
  • What advantages and disadvantages would researchers experience with each of these tools?

Find a print index to explore

Try to find a matched pair: the print version and online version of the same bibliography or index. This will be challenging!

Check if your library has one of these sample titles

Find your own

  • Start from your library’s database list.

    Pick a database that is highly structured. It might be labeled as an index, bibliography, or “abstracts”. 

  • Try to figure out if the database originated as a print index.

    You may find clues in your library’s description of the database, on the database’s own about page, or just by searching the web. If you can’t figure it out after a few minutes of searching, try again with a different database. 

  • Note the exact title and the creator of the print index.

    This will be important for searching!

  • Search your library’s catalog for copies of the print index. 

    Be prepared to find nothing, as many libraries have deaccessioned their print indexes. If you have a choice of years, get the most recent volume you can find. (It may not be very recent, but 1950 is still better than 1880.)

Follow the trail from paper to screen

Locate a citation in the print index

Pick a citation, any citation. Make sure to explore the print index for other places the same citation is listed.

Look up your citation in the online database

Find the same citation in the database that corresponds to the print index you’re using.

Look up your citation in your library’s discovery layer

Find the citation in your library’s discovery layer. 

  • If you find more than one listing, compare them!
  • If you have difficulty finding the citation: 
    • Make sure you are logged in
    • Adjust your search, e.g. search just for the author as “lastname, firstname,” or just the first few words of the title
    • It might not be there at all: there is no guarantee that your discovery layer has a listing for any given citation

You have completed What is a Database? Explore more modules.

Introduction | Prep | Presentation | Activity 1 | Activity 2