Tarleton State University Libraries Unit 7 UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY WORK   Library Databases contain records that offer descriptive information about the available items. Each record has fields (individual elements) that contain different types of information (e.g. author, title, subject, etc.). Fields are the searchable parts of a record, but identical fields are not in all databases due to design and content factors. Most databases use controlled vocabulary (standardized) terms to organize and index the contents. As a result, all items in a database related to a specific subject are assigned the same terms to allow subject searches within the database. Databases usually offer at least one of the following: •  citation -- publication information •  abstract -- brief summary of the item's contents •  full text -- complete electronic text of an item (usually an article) that may not include images or graphics. Databases always contain citations for items. Many also include abstracts, which help researchers determine if items will be useful. In addition, a significant number of databases offer full text items, so researchers have direct, online access to them. Different types of databases are available online (e.g. bibliographic, numeric, image, full text, etc.). Tarleton libraries' databases are primarily online periodical indexes (bibliographic databases) and full text databases.    Unit 7: Overview & Goals Accessing & Choosing Databases    Library Orientation Site Index Updated 8/2004