Same on the Surface, Different Under the Hood

Understand the Scope and Size of the Database
Understand the Granualarity of the Database

Compare the scope and size the three databases below.

CQ Magazine This link opens in a new window
Is a magazine covering congress that is staffed by more than 100 reporters, editors, and researchers. Articles are in plain-english are non-partisan.
Subject Coverage:
congress, the legislative process
Dates of Coverage:
1983 to present
Update Frequency:
weekly
Size:
equivalent to a dozen shelves worth of bound volumes
Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
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Indexes doctoral dissertations accepted at accredited U.S. institutions since 1861. It selectively covers Master's Theses, Canadian dissertations, and British and other European dissertations going back to 1637. Nearly half of the records link to the full-text document.
Subject Coverage:
covers the complete range of academic subjects appearing in dissertations accepted at accredited institutions
Dates of Coverage:
1637 to present (for selected British and European dissertations)
1861 to present (for indexing of U.S. dissertations)
July 1980 to present (for dissertations with abstracts)
January 1988 to present (for Master's Theses with abstracts)
1997 to present (for the full-text of most dissertations)
2013 to present (for indexing and full-text of theses produced at Morehead State University)
Update Frequency:
monthly
Size:
more than 3,800,000 records
more than 1.700.000 full-text documents
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Is a worldwide online union catalog that offers bibliographic and holdings information for thousands of libraries. Each item in the database not held in the library at MSU can be easily obtained by using the 'Request it' button.
Subject Coverage:
covers countless subjects
Dates of Coverage:
1000 C.E. to present
Update Frequency:
daily
Size:
more than 548 million item records
more than 3.3 billion holdings records
Note:
It includes manuscripts written as early as the 11th century as well as books cataloged yesterday. It would be a challenge to name a book that would not have a record in this database. Numerous journal articles are also available through WorldCat.

Click into the 'Advanced Search' screen and look at the number of fields indexed for each and compare.

MasterFILE Premier This link opens in a new window
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Designed specifically for public libraries, it provides full text for magazines, reference books, and primary source documents. This database also provides an Image Collection containing photos, maps & flags.
Subject Coverage:
numerous subjects
Dates of Coverage:
PDF content back to 1975
Update Frequency:
unknown
Size:
Nearly 1,700 full-text periodicals
APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
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Indexes journal articles, technical reports, monographic series, dissertations, and other materials relating to psychology. Articles are selected from more than 1,500 journals published in 35 languages.
Subject Coverage:
psychology & related fields
Dates of Coverage:
1600s to present
Update Frequency:
weekly
Size:
more than 5 million records
Notes:
Ninety-nine percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed.
Has one of the highest DOI matching rates in the publishing industry
Offers options for searching on Cited References
Training Videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/APAPublishingTraining/videos

What unique search capabilities might indexed fields allow?

GeoRef This link opens in a new window
Is an international index for geology and earth sciences that covers more than 3,500 currently published periodicals (with a historical total of about 22,000 periodicals). It can be searched using latitudes and longitudes.
Subject Coverage:
geology & earth sciences
Dates of Coverage:
1785 to present (for records from North America)
1933 to present (for international records)
Update Frequency:
biweekly
Size:
more than 2,609,700 records
Notes:
Abstracts are included in records between 1961 and 1974. The database grows by more than 60,000 records annually.
CINAHL {Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature} This link opens in a new window
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CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) indexes and abstracts more than 900 nursing, allied health, biomedical, and consumer health journals. It includes healthcare books, nursing dissertations, standards of professional practice, nurse practice acts, and educational software.
Subject Coverage:
nursing and allied health
Dates of Coverage:
1982 to present
1986 to present (for records with abstracts)
Update Frequency:
monthly
Size:
more than 670,000 records