What Is a Reference Entity?

Reference Database (Reference Database) refers to a database containing various original sources and attributes of information, data or knowledge. Records in the database are secondary documents formed by reprocessing and filtering information, data, or knowledge (such as cataloging, indexing, classification, and classification). ^[1]

Reference database (Reference Database) refers to the database containing the original source and attributes of various data, information or knowledge. Records in the database are formed by reprocessing and filtering data, information, or knowledge, such as cataloging, indexing, abstracting, and classification.

Reference databases include bibliographic databases, abstract databases, and index databases. Bibliographic databases mainly report and reveal the contents and storage addresses of books, such as the machine-readable catalog databases of library collections; abstracts and index databases are content and attributes relative to journal articles, conference papers, patent documents, dissertations, etc. Recognition and processing, it provides information on identified document sources for people to consult and retrieve, but generally does not provide collection information of the original documents. ^[2]

The basic building blocks of a reference database are records and fields.

(1) Reference databases are mainly developed for printed publications. Each reference database generally has a corresponding book-type search tool or card-type catalog (printed version).

(2) The data structure is simple, the recording format is fixed, and the production cost is relatively low; the amount of data is large, and the continuity is strong.

(3) The scope of use of the reference database is generally open. People can obtain the reference database by purchasing or renting it, or they can be retrieved through an online retrieval system. Generally there are no restrictions on its use. In particular, bibliographic databases are generally free for all users. ^[2]

The most important use of the reference database is to collect literature clues and quickly and comprehensively query the literature information of a certain subject, field or topic. Another main use is for personalized user-defined services, such as the latest catalog reports, problem-finding services, and retrospective retrieval. In addition, it can also be used for various statistics and evaluations, such as statistics on the volume of publications of periodicals, individuals or institutions, reprinting and citation of statistical articles, and evaluating the influence of journals. For example, the well-known SCI database is often selected by many units and individuals as an evaluation tool for statistics of individual thesis results and institutional scientific research level. When selecting core journals, it is often based on important reference databases of various disciplines. ^[2]

Some of the well-known foreign comprehensive reference databases have a century-old history and enjoy a high reputation and authority. These databases are interdisciplinary and international large-scale comprehensive search tools and are important sources of information for us to obtain cutting-edge information on the subject. . The four authoritative search databases that we often say usually refer to SCI, SSCI, Ei, and ISTP, and the documents included in them are selected from the core journals, the most authoritative international conferences or the most authoritative monographs in various disciplines; these The database not only has a source index, but also a citation index, that is, it not only indexes the selected source documents (journal articles, conference papers or monographs), but also references (quotations) involved in these source documents. .

Numerous teaching and scientific research units mainly use SCI, SSCI, Ei, ISTP and other search tools in teaching and scientific research, professional title evaluation, fund application, awards and other work; national science fund and youth fund application activities are also based on these major authorities The query result of the retrieval tool is a prerequisite. ^[2]

Reference databases include bibliographic databases, abstract databases and index databases. Just as the library's public catalogue means to the collection of books, without the catalogue revealing, the collection of books will be like a loose pearl. The catalog is the silk thread strung with pearls. For the vast electronic resources, the reference database plays the role of looking at the overall situation, summarizing the outline, filtering the essence, and the grass snake line. Compared with other full-text databases, it has incomparable advantages.

The database is a CD-ROM version of the Earth Sciences Database of the American College of Geology, which contains 1.9 million pieces of data in North America since 1785 and in the rest of the world since 1933. The database corresponds to four major geoscience publications, which are: North American Geography Bibliography, Geography Bibliography and Index Outside North America, Geophysics Abstracts, Geography Bibliography and Index . The database includes four discs. The first disc contains bibliographic data published before 1974 or before, the second disc contains bibliographic data published between 1975 and 1985, and the third disc contains bibliographic data published between 1986 and 1995. The data of the fourth CD is added based on the data of the American College of Geology, and it is not chronologically sorted like the previous three CDs. It contains current and old publications. ^[3]