Comparing Database Features
This table summarizes features found in databases widely used in the health and life sciences.
| PubMed | BIOSIS Previews | PsycINFO | Web of Science Knowledge | CINAHL Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject scope | Medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, preclinical sciences | Biology (e.g., botany, zoology microbiology), agriculture, ecology, medicine, pharmacology, biochemistry, biophysics, bioengineering, biotechnology | Psychology, psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, social work | Wide multidisciplinary coverage of the sciences and social sciences | Nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health, allied health disciplines |
| Format scope | Journal articles | Journal articles, book chapters, meeting publications, conference proceedings, patents | Journal articles, conference proceedings, books, reports, dissertations | Journal articles, reviews, corrections, discussions, letters, meeting abstracts, grant number | Journal articles, health care books, nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals, book chapters |
| Years covered | 1948–present | 1926–present | 1806–present | Science Citation Index: 1900–present; Social Sciences Citation Index: 1956–present; Arts and Humanities Citation Index: 1975–present |
1937–present |
| Default search | Runs most appropriate search | Phrase | Phrase | Phrase | Two adjacent words |
| Truncation symbol(s) | * | * (any group of characters); ? (single character) |
* | * (any group of characters); ? (single character) |
* (any group of characters); ? (single character) |
| Types of searches available | Keyword, phrase, author, title, subject/MeSH | Topic, author, title, address, keyword, Boolean, exact phrase | Exact phrase, all of the words, any of the words | Topic, author, title, address, keyword, Boolean, exact phrase, words in same sentence | Basic: Standard (use Boolean operators), all of the words, any of the words, exact phrase |
| Search options | MeSH Browser, Single Citation Matcher, Batch Citation Matcher, Clinical Queries, Linkout, Explode | Author, Title, Journal, Search Fields/Index, Tools (Thesaurus) Combine, Basic, Explode | Advanced Search, Browse Indexes, Thesaurus Search, Search History/Alerts, Explode | Cited Reference, Topic, Author, Title, Address, Advanced, Combine Search Sets | Advanced: Limiters (see below), Expanders (Full Text Search, Related Words), Search History/Combine Sets, Journal, Explode |
| Limits | Publication types, age groups, date, language, items with abstracts, human/animal, subsets, gender, specific database field | English, abstracts, review articles, human, microorganisms, plants, latest update, full text, new taxa, human, organisms, animals, date | Latest update, journal articles only, English only, dates, age, popultion, audience | Date(s), database, language, document type | Basic: date, publication, journal subset, publication type Advanced: abstract available, author, language, gender, age related, special interest |
| Link to UCLA collections | UC-eLinks | UC-eLinks | UC-eLinks | UC-eLinks | UC-eLinks |
| Print, email, download results | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |