Glossary

A catalog or library catalog is a database of all of the information resources available on a library's physical or virtual shelves. It gives access to the resources' bibliographic information (e.g. titles, authors), as well as the subject headings that were assigned to them and their locations.

A cited passage or quotation.

A major topic included in a research question.

A collection of data (e.g. article or book titles, full-text) searchable and available electronically

Electronic book

EBSCO is a provider of research databases, e-journals, magazine subscriptions, e-books and discovery service to libraries of all kinds.

Stands for Ebsco Discovery Service, which is a database that searches the contents of the Library Catalogue, ~300 Article databases, and the Education & Research Archive (ERA). See the search tips page for more information.

ERIC contains records and links to hundreds of thousands of full-text documents. It includes records for a variety of source types, including journal articles, books, conference papers, curriculum guides, dissertations and policy papers. Further, researchers can limit search results by education level such as Early Childhood Education as well as on the intended audience such as Counselors or Teachers.

The complete text of a book or article

A term used to describe the process of requesting that a library item be sent or returned to a library branch and held for a specific person for a short period of time.

A periodically published set of articles that may take the form of an academic periodical, magazine, or newspaper.

A term used to describe a source of information, e.g. words in a title, names of authors, subject headings, place of publication, etc.

NEOS is an Alberta consortium of academic, government, and health libraries collaborating to serve their clients. NEOS libraries share a catalogue and integrated library system, and work together on learning initiatives, document delivery and a range of core library activities.

A Wolters Kluwer provider of research databases focusing on areas like health, behavioural sciences, etc.

Information that is a result of first-hand experience or original research.

Also known as APA PsycInfo. It covers the international literature in psychology. Topics include: applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, education psychology, experimental psychology, personality, physical and psychological disorders, physiological psychology, psychometrics, social psychology and sports psychology. Formats covered by this database are: journal articles, book chapters, dissertations and technical reports.

A bibliographical description of a published work in a library catalogue or database.

A cited work listed and systematically described in a list of references.

A publication that can be considered a tertiary source, e.g. dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias

Information that is derived from primary sources or original research, e.g. second hand information.

An online library help manual

A standardized term or controlled vocabulary describing the topic of a library resource and assigned by a cataloguing librarian. It appears in a resource's library or bibliographic record.

Information that derives from primary and secondary sources, like dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.