Factiva and Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies. Comparing retrieval reliability between academic institutions
| Published date | 08 June 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-11-2014-0276 |
| Pages | 346-359 |
| Date | 08 June 2015 |
| Author | S. Michelle Driedger,Jade Weimer |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval |
Factiva and Canadian
Newsstand Major Dailies
Comparing retrieval reliability between
academic institutions
S. Michelle Driedger
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, Canada, and
Jade Weimer
Department of Religion, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –Scholars rely on electronic databases to conduct searches and locate relevant citations.
The purpose of this paper is to compare the retrieval results on the same topic (multiple sclerosis and
liberation therapy) of two commonly used databases for searching print news media: ProQuest’s
Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies and Dow Jones’Factiva.
Design/methodology/approach –A case study comparing two electronic searchable databases
using the same keywords, date range, and newspaper-specific search parameters across three
Canadian university institutions.
Findings –Considerable differences were found between institutional searches using Factiva. Factiva
allows all individual users the capacity to establish systems-wide “administrator”privileges, thereby
controlling the output for subsequent users if these preferences are not changed. The capacity for
individual users to tailor searches within Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies was more in line with
standard protocols for institutions paying for single user accounts with access to multiple sessions
within that same institution: any user-specific searching/retrieval preferences are individually
contained within a search and do not influence the searches of a different user.
Research limitations/implications –What began as a comparative analysis of two commonly
used databases for searching print news media turned into an examination of larger systemic
problems. The findings call into question several factors: the integrity of a researcher-generated data
set; the quality of results published in peer-reviewed journals based on researcher-generated data sets
derived from established e-resource databases; the reliability of the same e-resource database across
multiple institutions; and the quality of e-resource databases for scholarly research when developed to
serve primarily non-academic clients.
Originality/value –No comparison of this kind for these particular e-resource databases has
been documented in the literature. In fact, the scholarly publications that address questions of
functionality and reliability of either Factiva or Proquest have not brought this issue into the
discussion. Therefore, this study furthers academic discourse on the nature and reliability of
database use at any academic institution and illustrates that researchers, in a variety of academic
fields, cannot depend on the reliability of their search results without thoroughly consulting the
various settings of their database.
Keywords E-resources, Reliability, Digital library, Information sciences, News media
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Many internet users are aware that web sites and search engines may perform
differently in different countries. For example, using identical search keywords and
strategies, Google will return different search results in Canada and China based on
constraints and preferences imposed by individual countries. Similarly, given the level
Online Information Review
Vol. 39 No. 3, 2015
pp. 346-359
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-11-2014-0276
Received 21 November 2014
First revision approved
26 March 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
346
OIR
39,3
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