Below is a report on the database I created using Microsoft Access. At the end of the written report there are links to
the different screen layouts described throughout the report.
| Description | Forms | Fields | Software | Conclusions |
University of Rhode Island has decided to offer an undergraduate course for the Introduction of Information Science and Technology. Our very own Dr. C. Herbert Carson teaches the course. As an assignment in this class, the students are required to write a paper about any topic within the field of information science and technology. To ease the undergraduate students’ research pains, a very nice graduate assistant compiled a database of graduate students’ annotations. Written by graduate level students in the School of Library and Information Studies, the annotations provide a perfect access tool to begin research. The database begins with the spring 2007 semester of LSC 508 students and will continually be updated each semester thereafter.
Since the database is a new project the only form the graduate assistant has to fill out each record are the individual student’s annotation websites. As a rule, the database will continue to follow the APA style of citations: author, year, article title, journal, volume, issue, pages and the database used to retrieve the article. The record layout follows this order to make data entry easier.
Along with the previous attributes, the database also includes six other fields. Student, Semester, and Annotation Keyword 1-4 were added to help the undergraduate student search a topic, student, or semester. Each of these fields helps the student find articles relating to their topic of choice.The first field, Author, has a maximum entry of 20 characters. The author is entered following the APA style of citation with last name followed by first and middle initials. This field enables students to search and organize records by desired author. The second field, Year, lists the year in which the article was published. The maximum amount of characters is four with a 4-year entry. Again, this creates different avenues for the undergraduate researcher. The third field, Article, has a maximum entry of 105 characters. The high entry level allows for the full title to be entered. The fifth entry is Journal. The Journal field states the journal name in which the article was published and has a maximum entry of 50 characters. Searching by journal allows the undergraduate student to seek articles published under different professional fields. The sixth field, Volume and Issue, is a non-indexed field. With a maximum entry of 5 characters, the field provides students with a proper citation instead of a searchable field. The next field, Pages, has a maximum data entry of eleven characters. As with Volume and Issue, this page is non-indexed. This field provides undergraduate students with a full APA citation. The last of the APA citation fields is Database. The Database field gives the name of the database that was used by the graduate student to find their article, if one was used.
The next six fields are indexed fields that enable the user to further research individual students, semesters, and topics. The next four fields are labeled Annotation Keyword 1, Annotation Keyword 2, Annotation Keyword 3, and Annotation Keyword 4. Each of these fields contains a drop down list of subject terms that relate to different articles within the database. The maximum entry is 35 characters. Being able to search by topic enables the user to find articles that relate to their particular assignment or area of interest. The next field, Student, provides the student’s name who wrote the annotation. With a total 25 characters, the field will contain the last name followed by the first name. This indexed field allows researchers to locate all annotations written by a particular graduate student. The last field included on each record is Semester. The field contains a maximum of 11 characters and includes the term followed by the four-numbered year.
There are multiple ways to enter values into the database, but the easiest way to enter each new record is to do so within the table ‘Fields.’ Using the datasheet view, the data can be entered through a spreadsheet table with each row indicating a new record. The links below will take you to a screen shot of the datasheet view.With an estimated total of 8,750 total annotations over five years, the maximum size of this database will be 3.9 MB. At full capacity, computers should be able to handle the annotations database. With most modern computers coming with Microsoft Works, all students should be able to access the database with no problems through Microsoft Access. Although Access can be difficult at times to maneuver, with the proper manuals, it can be easily used and maintained. As with most programs and databases, there is the risk of unauthorized use and access. The best way to solve this issue and to make sure the database is used by the undergraduate students enrolled in the class is to make the database available only through a WebCT link provided by the professor.
The database of the graduate students’ annotations will be a great asset to the students of the undergraduate Information Science and Technology course. With ways to maneuver each field to show the proper APA citation, a particular student’s annotations, annotations about a particular topic, or many other benefits, the database will prove to last as long as the course is offered.
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