Introducing New Computer Science Databases
By Charles Seymour
PhD, MLS, Reference Librarian
Are you researching a topic in computer science? The Grand Canyon University Library has recently strengthened its holdings in this field with the addition of four databases. You can find these new additions on the “Find Journal Articles” button on the library’s website. Browse by alphabetical listings or find the new database additions under the “Computer Science” subject heading.
The ACM Digital Library has over 400,000 full text articles in computing and information technology from journals, magazines and technical newsletters. In addition, you’ll find over 6,500 video files and over 500 audio files. Some of the more unique search options include searching by author’s institutional affiliation, by conference location or sponsor and by Computing Classification System heading.
Applied Science and Technology Source covers not only computer science but also related topics such as applied mathematics, engineering and communication technology. It has coverage of over 1,300 journals and a wide variety of other publications such as directories, corporate profiles, conference proceedings and more. You can use the “Document Type” menu on the search screen to focus on one of these types of publication or search across all of them.
Computer and Information Science Collection Five is a collection of documents of approximately 50-100 pages each. Also called the “Morgan and Claypool Synthesis Lectures,” they are written by experts in the field and synthesize current research in various topics in computer science. They are therefore much better for giving you an introductory overview of a topic than the journal articles you may find in other databases, which are usually narrowly focused on a very specific research question.
A particular strength of the Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL) is its collection of 31 magazines from the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), a prominent technical professional organization. It also has over 4,800 full-text conference proceedings. When you open the database, you’ll see a listing of these sources with check boxes. You can leave them all checked to search the entire database, or check specific ones to search just those sources.
If you would like help researching, please contact us at http://library.gcu.edu/AskALibrarian or call toll free 800-800-9776 x6396641.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University. Any sources cited were accurate as of the publish date.
