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DataBank: WorldCat Comparative Analysis

Advanced Search & Subject Headings

WorldCat

 

A. Begin by Finding Subject Headings

                1. Go to:    Advanced Search

                2. On the left-hand side of the grey box, chose:   Subject

                3. Type in Word or Concept such as:       cognitive science

                4. For details of the type of works to expect from this heading, click:   Expand

 

 

B. Then Use Indexes to Frame the Search

                1. Go to:    Advanced Search

                2. Use the limits:              Limit to:

                                                                Limit Type to:

                                                                Subtype Limits:   

                                                                Limit Availability To: 

 

 

C. Choose Libraries for Comparison

Academic institutions typically have multiple OCLC codes for their libraries and collections.  You may have to go to the university's website to decide which of the libraries or collections to chose.  You can list more than one in the "Limit Availability"-"Library Code" box.  Note, however, that this box only accepts "or" Boolean searches, not "and." For the latter, see the Expert search instructions below.

 

Don't know the OCLC code for a library? See the "Find codes" link next to the Library Code box.

 

  

D. Form the Research Questions to Design the Search Methodology

Here is an example which shows how research questions design the search plan (i.e., a demonstration of analysis choosing the tools rather than allowing the tools to drive the analysis):

 

Q.1 What is the strength of Duke's monograph collection, compared to NUL's, related to the topics of economic development theory and policy?  And Q.2 how do they compare in terms of international coverage, as measured in the languages of the publications?

                [Search for]              economic development [Subject Phrase]

                [Limit type to]         books

                [Subtype limits]      not juvenile, not fiction

                [Limit availability to]   ndd or ndb [Library Code]

 

The grey results box provides the total number of books on this subject as well as the number in English.  In this (fictional) example, Duke Libraries (main and business) have 10,347 books on economic development of which 22% are in languages other than English.  Repeat the search but "Limit Availability to" items in "my library."  The results show that the collections at these schools are of about equal strength, but NUL has fewer foreign works, with 89% of its collection in English.

 

Q.3 The collections are about the same size, but are they growing at the same pace?  During the past decade (defined as 2000-2008), what was the collecting pattern at these libraries for this subject?

 

To answer these questions, you could run the above search 18 times (9 times for each library) with a date limit per year (e.g., 2000, 2001, etc.).  Or,

                Run the above two searches (Duke and NU) plus…

                [Limit to: Year]  2000-2008

                [Rank by]             Date

 

The search above sorts the results by date.

Export to a Text file.

Open the txt file with Excel.

Calculate the number of titles per year via excel row numbers to get the rates of growth per year.

 

 

More? See Expert Search to continue.