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Comparison of Women's Studies Databases

This study compares the coverage and quality of three online databases - Contemporary Women's Issues, GenderWatch, and Women's Studies International - for core journals in women and gender studies. The study examines the inclusion of core titles, dates of coverage, number of citations per title, and full-text availability. Recommendations are made for future research and preservation of important journals.

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Comparison of Women's Studies Databases

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  1. Women’s Studies Databases: A Critical Comparison of Three Databases forCoverage ofCore Journals in Women and Gender Studies Cindy Ingold Women and Gender Resources Librarian University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign ALISE Conference Seattle, WA

  2. Study • Compared 40 core women’s studies journals determined by the ACRL Women’s Studies Section Collection Development Committee in three online databases: • Contemporary Women’s Issues (available from GALE, FirstSearch, and Lexis Nexis) • GenderWatch (available from ProQuest) • Women’s Studies International (available from NISC or EBSCO)

  3. Key Questions for the Study • Which core titles are included in each database? • What are the dates of coverage for each title? • How many citations/records appear in each database for each title? • For Contemporary Women’s Issues and GenderWatch which journals are available full text and what was the extent of the full text coverage in both systems?

  4. Titles and Dates of Coverage in Each Database • Began with vendor supplied title lists • Searched all core titles in each database • Conducted search over 2 to 3 days in the fall • Results: • Contemporary Women’s Issues included 19 of 40 titles or 47.5% • GenderWatch included 17 of 40 titles or 42.5% • Women’s Studies International included 35 of 40 titles or 87.5% and included longer coverage for most titles than the other two resources

  5. Number of Citations per Title in Each Database • Contemporary Women’s Issues included the fewest number of citations for each journal • GenderWatch included a significant number of citations for several titles, especially Feminist Studies, Feminist Teacher, Journal of Lesbian Studies, and Journal of Women, Politics and Policy • Women’s Studies International included the greatest number of citations per title

  6. Full Text Coverage in Contemporary Women’s Issues and GenderWatch • Question One: Which journals are full text in each database? • Contemporary Women’s Issues had 15/40 titles with some full text • GenderWatch had 10/40 titles with some full text • Question Two: What was the quality of Full Text Coverage in each database?

  7. Titles Compared in Contemporary Women’s Issues and Gender Watch for Quality of Full Text Coverage • Feminist Collections (Fall 1994 and Spring 2006) • Feminist Studies (Spring 1994 and Fall 2003) • Feminist Teacher (v.8, n.1 1994 and v. 12,n. 2 1998) • Hypatia (Win. 1996 and Summer 2006) • Journal of Women’s History (March 1996 and Fall 2005) • NWSA Journal (Spring 1996 and Summer 2006) • off our backs (January 1993 and February 2006)

  8. Discussion • Women’s Studies International provides most complete indexing and abstracting of core women’s studies journals • GenderWatch and Contemporary Women’s Issues provide inadequate coverage of core women’s studies journals • Some core titles not covered at all

  9. Future Research More research needs to be done including: • Examine the three databases for coverage of second tier women’s studies titles or for newsletters • Examine databases not specific women’s studies for their coverage of women’s studies journals

  10. Recommendations • Research the quality of databases before making any decisions to cut serial titles • Librarians must work together to assure that the full print run of every core women’s studies journal is preserved • Librarians must encourage vendors who say they provide full text coverage to provide full text coverage of important journals, and provide it from cover to cover • Librarians should influence the search interface for databases

  11. Contact Information Comments? Input? Cindy Ingold, Women and Gender Resources Librarian University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign cingold@uiuc.edu 217-333-7998

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