Kazumi Reads

Bibliographic Information:
Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

Figure 1

About the Database:
This database is a great resource for teens who not only want to get caught up on current events, but provide evidence on issues they feel strongly about for educational purposes. This site is fairly streamlined (Figure 1) where users are not overwhelmed; in fact, they have plenty of options they can choose from that focus on current events (which is what teens are looking for). Another great feature of this database is the "Featured News" section that contains videos and links from popular new sources such as: Newsweek, New York Times, and USA Today.  As users begin their search, they have several options: they can use the "Search Bar" at the top right-hand corner and restrict their results using the fields that are provided: "Viewpoints," "Reference," "Images," and "More."

Figure 2

Critical Evaluation:
Opposing Viewpoints in Context provides students with articles and visuals that covers a large scope of issues that are not only controversial, but events that affect them locally and nationally. According to Gale: "Opposing Viewpoints in Context helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, and creating presentations and more" (para. 1).  As mentioned before, the interfaces are simple and easy to use so teens do not have to feel overwhelmed. When conducting a search, using the "Issues" option, I looked up "Body Image" and got a plenty of information regarding the issues and other related topics. There is no shortage of information in this database; moreover, everything is up to date, which is essential since these topics are always changing.


Information about the Database Company:
According to Gale, "Opposing Viewpoints in Context contains more than 700 Greenhaven Press, Gale, Macmillan Reference USA™, Charles Scribner’s Sons® and U·X·L titles. New reference content is added on an ongoing basis, and new full-text periodical and newspaper articles are added every day" (para. 3). Based in Farmington, Michigan, Gale has offices all over the world, which makes it one of the more popular companies in this business; Gale is "[b[est known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform" (para. 1). 



Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

About the Database: 
Gale's Literature Resource Center is a great tool for teens to utilize when writing formal English papers or looking for information on an author, poet, or text. When users read through the page, they will notice that they have 1,331,279  documents to search, which means there are plenty or resources for to use. Furthermore, when users first enter this site, they will see the the homepage (figure 1), which provides several search options: Basic Search, Advanced Search, Person Search, Works Search, Gale Literary Index. Another great aspect about Literature Resource Center is the tools that can be utilized after information retrieval. For example, I conducted a search on William Shakespeare, using the"Person  Search" and found an interesting article about Shakespeare and the database offered a variety of options.

Figure 1

Critical Evaluation:
After exploring Literature Resource Center (LRC), the one aspect that I enjoyed is how user friendly the database is. Rather than being inundated with many options, LRC streamlines searching by providing several interfaces that are unique since they focus on the subject of the search, which could be the person, a popular work, or a combination of both. Moreover, each of these searches provides specific filters that teens can use to narrow their by the century, ethnicity of the author, the type of article, and audience. What is also great about this database is that students can use this tool as the beginning step of their research using the "Gale Literary Index," which allows the to search for particular articles. Lastly, this database actually offers users to have their articles formatted by MLA and APA format, which, for some teens, is a real perk.

Information about the Database Company:
Gale, which is a subsidy of Cengage Learning, is one of the leading electronic publishing companies that provides products for libraries, schools, and businesses. Based in Farmington, Michigan, Gale has offices all over the world, which makes it one of the more popular companies in this business. According to Gale, it "[b[est known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform" (para. 1). Among electronic publishing, Gale is also a publishing house where some of its imprint consist of: Macmillian  Reference USA, Charles Scribner's Sons, Primary Source Media,, UXL, Greenhave Press, Lucent Books, Sleeping Bear Press, KidHaven Press, Thorndike Press, Christian Large Print, Wheeler Publishing, Five Star, and Large Print Press.

Genre:
Reference

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up

Figure 1

About the Database:
Student Research Center (SRC) is database teens can use to look for a variety of information based on specific topics. When users look at the main interface (Figure 1.), they have a variety search options they can use. SRC also allows users to search for articles based on publication date, reading level, and only ask for "full-text" articles. Another great function is the inclusion of articles based on their format: newspaper, magazines, encyclopedia articles, etc. Another great option that can assist teens is the "Search by Topic" function that let users start off broad or get an idea of what they are looking for.

Figure 2

Once users have entered their search terms, they will see a list of results (Figure 2) that can be limited to format (magazines, newspapers, books, etc.). Users can also sort thought results by relevance and date of publication.



Critical Evaluation:
This database is a great asset for public libraries simply because it provides information on subjects the library may not have or titles are checked out. After using this resource, it has a the variety of search options that are useful. When conducting a search on "William Shakespeare" and "the Middle East," it was interesting to see the difference between the searches. For example, the search on Shakespeare returned fewer resources than the Middle East, but the interface did not supply the left-hand tool bar that contain subject and publication trees. I am not sure why the results interfaces are not consistent, but this was one detail I did notice. When searching for information on the Middle East, hundreds and thousands of articles were retrieved, which was amazing. SRC contains a lot of information for teens that will help them find the items they need, but actually teach them how to search by providing them with plenty of search fields and options.

Information about the Database Company:
EBSCO is one of the leading companies to provide institutions with electronic services ranging from reference, online searching, online journals, research databases, and much more. According to EBSCO: "EBSCO has served the library industry for more than 60 years. By placing customers at the core of our business, we have tapped their ingenuity to assist us in developing the high quality products and services for which EBSCO is known" (para.1). According to EBSCO, the reason why the made SRC was to create "a search interface designed specifically for secondary school students, according to their needs and search abilities. The Student Research Center provides students in secondary schools with the most appropriate research tools for easily obtaining the information that they seek from their EBSCO databases" (para. 1). The goal behind this database is to teach teens how to look for information using professional resources designed like SRC, which they will encounter in college. Moreover, they can take what they learn to more informal resources such as search engines. 


Genre:
Reference

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up



Databases Similar to Student Research Center:

• Gale Cengage Learning's InfoTrac