Lesson 1: Choosing a Database
Objectives
In this lesson, you will learn to:
- Use the Database Selection Checklist.
- Use the databases selection tool, also known as DIALINDEX®, to choose databases.
- Identify search terms.
In this lesson we'll look for information on the Iridium project. We'll take a look at the Dialog tools to help us find information on what is being reported about Iridium. All the information on Dialog is stored in databases.
Fortunately, Dialog has a great tool for locating which database has the best data on a topic—DIALINDEX.
Note: We will use the DialogWeb interface for DIALINDEX since it is easy to use and can be used for free via the Web.
Here is a request that I got from another engineer on this topic. This request is typical of those that you might want to do for yourselves too.
Introduction
Chris -
I keep hearing about the Iridium technology in the news. Apparently, the company is in trouble, but the technology they used is quite good. All I know about the technology is that it deals with using cellular phones via satellite. Can you get me some info from some of the technical journals that explains what it is in more depth? I'd like it ASAP.
Thx,
Brian
Although I don't have much time to respond to this request, there are still some pre-search considerations I should think about which will help me to obtain the most relevant results for Brian. For this lesson, I will show you how I would go about answering this request—in other words, the processes I would go through.
So, let's begin. Go to the next page to see my preliminary search considerations.
