Library

GSLIS Dialog

What is Dialog and why should you use it?

Planning your search

Resources for help

 

What is Dialog and why should you use it

Dialog is a service which provides access to over 470 databases of information. It contains access to more information than all of the Simmons databases combined. It has a powerful search interface which allows trained searchers to craft elegant, precise searches in order to retrieve the best information from the best sources available.

  • Over 470 databases.
  • Each database costs money to use, charged to the users account for every minute the user is connected.
  • Benefits of using DIALOG:
    • Contains over 330 million articles, abstracts, and citations - 20 billion pages of text and images (which is about 10 times the searchable text on the Internet)
      • The complete text of articles from more than 7,000 journals, magazines, and newsletters; text of over 100 leading US and international newspapers, plus wire service stories.
      • References to and abstracts of articles from more than 100,000 international publications on science and technology, social sciences, and humanities
      • Financial profiles and background information on more than 12 million US and 1 million international companies
    • Allows for precise searching of all records to find most relevant information available

Planning your search

Before you search, you should write down everything you plan to do. Dialog is expensive to use, and takes time to get good at. Rather than frustrate yourself at the computer, sit down away from the screen and carefully plan your search.

 

  • Identify the concepts you'd like to find.
    • List synonyms and related concepts for each concept.
    • Identify a truncation point for each word.
    • Use proximity and boolean operators to create and combine concept strings
  • Identify the appropriate database(s).
  • Open the bluesheets for the database or databases you'll be searching.
  • Write down exactly what search you'll be doing on a piece of paper (this may seem like a waste of time but it can save a lot of anxiety when you go to the computer.)
  • Use the B.E.S.T. commands -- in this order!
    • B - Begins a database. See the resources for help to figure out which database to search if your professor hasn't told you.
    • E - Expands an index to help you find the best terms to use in your search. (You can expand only those fields listed with an "=" in the bluesheets. )
      • Always expand where possible to find all used terms
      • E does not create a set of records. It displays an index and shows you how many records are associated with each term. Each index entry has a number (E#). To select from the index, you must choose S E#.
    • S - Selects records based on the criteria you type. (This is where you select fields and use your boolean and proximity operators)
      • When you use S, Dialog creates a set of records. Each set is numbered for future use.
      • You can combine sets by typing "S S# and S#" (where # are the numbers of the sets you want to combine)
    • T - Types (displays) the records you'd like to see in the format you specify (see the bluesheet for the database you're using for format options)

TIP: Type DS (display sets) to see what searches you have done so far.

TIP: Create a separate search for each concept and then combine results sets. That way, you can see where mistakes happen

Resources for help

Lucky for us, there are a great many resources provided by Dialog and others to help students get a handle on Dialog. Following are some of the best: Many of these are also available on reserve and in the techlab.

  • Dialog's Blue Sheets - http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/
    Each of the databases in Dialog comes with a "blue sheet" which gives information about the specific fields and content of that database. Print out the bluesheet for the database that you're using, or keep a browser window open on your desktop while you are searching.
  • Succesful Searching on Dialog -- http://support.dialog.com/searchaids/success/intro.shtml
    This is a very long (277 pp) and clear guide to using DIALOG Commands. You can print all or parts of it, or you can read it online.
  • Dialog Pocket Guide - http://support.dialog.com/searchaids/dialog/pocketguide/
    There is a navigation bar on the left part of the screen to show you how to move around within this detailed guide.
  • Search Solutions -http://training.dialog.com/quick/solutions/
    Instructions from DIALOG on how to do specific tasks in various areas including "how to find articles that cite a given author"
  • Dialog Tutorials - http://training.dialog.com/tours/
    Tutorials and Quick tours from DIALOG.

Page updated: June 8, 2005

 

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