Anatomy of a Database

DATABASE - Top Level
A collection of records of a particular type organized by a broad subject area. You have to decide which database is relevant for your research topic.

RECORD - Next Level
The citation and other information describing the periodical article. The information in the record is organized into different fields.

FIELD - Next Level
The different types of information about the article are separated into fields (e.g. author's name, title).

TERMS - Next Level
The words that appear in the particular fields. The terms are what you type and what the computer looks for in the fields of the records.

Developed by Sarah Beasley & Sharon Spence, June-1998
Seattle Central Community College Library
Email: sspenc@sccd.ctc.edu