DATABASE CONTENTS
- Number of hits OK? (i.e. Do you find
enough information on a topic?)
- Relevance of hits OK? (Are the articles listed in your search results generally
on target?)
- % Full text OK?
- Is coverage limited to the U.S.? to the State? International?
- Are special groups and perspectives adequately represented in the
database (e.g. ethnic, gender, etc.)
- How many years of data are retained in database at one time?
- Are dates of coverage adequate for most topics searched?
- What happens to older years?--Separate backfile? Older years removed? If
so, what access is available to them?
- If you cancel your sub in later years, what access is available to years
of data already paid for?
- Does vendor indicate when indexing begins for each title? when full
text begins?
- How often is database updated? Is that often enough to keep it current?
- What types of source material are included? (Text only? Books? Journals?
Images? Charts & graphs? Radio & TV program transcripts? etc.)
- What is level of source materials? Scholarly? General interest? A mix of
both?
- Is list
of source materials (journals, books, etc.) easily accessible from within
the database?
Or do you have to go to the vendor's web site to view source list? Available
in print format?
- Does vendor indicate whether each title is indexed cover to cover or
selectively?
- Are source materials appropriate for the wide variety of community college
students? (Content, reading level, depth, breadth of
topics, etc.)
- What document formats are offered? (Citations only? ASCII text? HTML?
PDF? images included?)
- Quality control--Does text contain multiple typos or scanning errors?
- Anything special about the contents? (e.g. includes foreign press items;
updated hourly, articles available in English and Spanish, etc.)
- Who selects content? (Librarians? Editors? Staff with subject expertise?
...)
- Is criteria for selection viewable online?
- Content valuable to *most* California community colleges? Valuable to
students at your campus?
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SEARCH INTERFACE
Search interface should combine ease of use with powerful searching
capabilities.
DESIGN & LAYOUT
- Clear? Uncluttered? Visually appealing?
- Easy to follow? (For students? computer novices? ESL students?)
- Links available to help users navigate the site? (e.g. "Next page;"
"Previous page;" "To top of page;" "New search;" "Return to citations list;"
"Home" or "Menu;" etc.)
- Graphics and layout give good navigational clues?
- Too many clicks to get to search screen? to print or e-mail options?
- Do pages load slowly due to number or size of images or length of pages?
- Do screens include product advertising or links to product
advertising?
- Does interface require special computer configuration? (e.g. specific
monitor resolution, ...)
- Is search interface customizable? In what ways? (e.g. Can you reset the
default search type, search selection options, order of search results,
etc.)
- Are Java applets used? Must javascript be turned
on? Frequent javascript problems?
- Are animated GIFs [images] used? Do they interfere with loading of
pages?
- Optimally designed for disability access?
- Are tables used? Can text in the tables be sensibly displayed by a text
browser like lynx?
- Are frames used?
- Is there a text only version available? (for disability access
equipment)
SEARCH CAPABILITIES
- What search types are
available? Keyword? Authority (i.e. "browse" or "subject guide")? Natural
language queries?
- If natural language queries allowed, generally successful or many false
hits?
- Different levels of searching offered? ( Simple,
Advanced, "Custom" ...)
- Full Boolean (including nested) available? e.g. ((gay or homosexual)
marriage) and (Colorado or Hawaii))
- Proximity indicators available? (e.g. "Tuscan near pottery" or "Title
VII within 3 words of U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964")
- Is it possible to:
- Truncate? (e.g. nurs* for nurse, nurses, nursing, ...)
- Use a wildcard feature? (e.g. wom*n for woman or women)
- Search for a phrase? (e.g. "community college" instead of "community" and
"college?")
- Limit by date? How easy is it to set date limits? (e.g. "since 1997" vs.
using a pull-down menu to indicate a specific range of dates)
- Limit by format? (e.g. newspapers only; images only; ...)
- Limit by field? (e.g. "gun control" in the article title)
- Search multiple fields simultaneously? (e.g. subject=gun control and
journal name=newsweek and da=since 02/01/99)
- Limit to full text?
- Limit to refereed journals? (More scholarly journals.)
- Search the text of articles (in addition to titles, subject headings,
authors)?
- View subject headings assigned to an article? Are they
hot linked to other articles with the same subject headings?
- Mark articles for later printing, e-mailing, etc.?
- Create a bibliography of titles as you work?
- Store links or data in a workspace while you continue searching?
- Is subject authority (list of subject headings and cross-refs used in
the database) viewable? online? Is it available in print format?
- In what order are results listed? (Chronologically? by relevance?
customizable?)
- Does vendor offer any explanation of how relevancy is determined?
- What methods are offered for refining a search?
- Must backfile be searched separately?
- What delivery methods are available? (view online? e-mail? (other than
browser e-mail) FAX? print? save to disk?...)
- If full text not available online, is it available via FAX? e-mail?
- Link to holdings available? i.e. Can you input data re. whether your
library holds paper or mf copies of titles or can you link from citations to
your OPAC holdings for the titles cited?)
- Can journal title records be easily integrated into OPAC to show
holdings? (e.g. Are they available in MARC format?)
- How much user training will be required for effective use of database?
- Does product work well on BOTH Windows and Macintosh platforms? (Try the
same searches on both types of computer.)
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USER SUPPORT SERVICES
- Is online Help available?
- Is it context-sensitive (i.e. directly related to the task you are
trying to perform) or just a "Help" Table of Contents?
- Is a Help table of contents also available? easy to locate?
- Instructions clear and easy to follow?
- Good examples used on search screens and Help screens?
- Does Help open in a separate browser window? (so users can read
instructions while trying to follow them)
- Amount of Help adequate?
- Is generally accepted terminology used on search screens and Help
screens? (to facilitate transition between these databases, other databases
and Web search engines)
- Is explanation available for technical terminology? (e.g. "Boolean,"
"PDF Format," "ASCII," etc.)
- What kind of contact info is available for database publisher? Info
easily located?
- Toll-free phone help available? Immediate response? or
Tech support call back? Available 24 hours/7 days?
- Both search support and technical support available?
- E-mail support available? Response time adequate?
- Printed documentation available? Is it clear, well organized, helpful?
- What other kinds of customer support is available? (e-mail? listserv?
FAX? on site staff training?)
- Statistical reports provided?
- How often? What format(s)? (print? electronic? can import to
spreadsheet?)
- What is included in statistical reports? (e.g. # of logins only? # of
queries?# hits on particular journal titles? breakdowns by hour? by day of
week? by formats retrieved (e-mail, PDF, FAX, online, etc).)
- How
will vendor notify you of product changes? of system problems & estimated repair
time?
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COST
- What is basis for pricing? (e.g. FTES; simultaneous users; unlimited
access; pay per search; book budget;...)
- Is online price contingent on maintaining print subscription as well?
- If cost is known---reasonable compared to similar products? compared to
print version?
- If database is specialized (e.g. business, medical, etc.) but cost is
per total FTES, is cost reasonable given actual number of users?
- Likely to be affordable for most California community colleges?
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ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICE
- Trouble connecting?
- Response time OK? during different times of day & night? over network
and via modem?
- Lots of server downtime?
- Javascript problems?
- Other tech problems/error messages? Are error messages intelligible to
the average English-speaking human?
- Connection reliable and stable?
- Any restrictions on hours of service? (e.g. server down for maintenance
daily from midnight to 6:00 A.M. EST)
- What options offered for user authentication? for remote access?
(Password only? IP authentication only? Proxy server? Referring URL?
Certificates?)
- Is text-only version available for older computers, slower modems or the
visually impaired?
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FEATURES YOU ESPECIALLY LIKED/DISLIKED
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
- Are published reviews of this product available?
- Is the product new? (i.e. still working out the bugs and glitches)
- What other libraries use this product?
- What improvements would you suggest?
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