Glossary

A brief summary of an article, book, or other published work, typically found at the beginning of a journal article.

Refers to a scholarly resource that requires its articles to be critically evaluated by one or more experts on the subject, known as referees. They are responsible for determining if the article falls within the scope of the publication, and for evaluating originality, quality of research, clarity of presentation, etc. May also be called a peer-reviewed, refereed, or scholarly resource.

A search option that allows use of multiple keywords, controlled vocabulary, limiters and other features of a database.

Altmetrics refer to web-based metrics used for measuring the impact of scholarly materials, particularly on social media platforms, as an alternative or in addition to traditional bibliometrics.

An annotated bibliography includes a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph for each citation.

Written content on a narrow subject, that is often brief (1-35 pages) in length, and published in a journal, magazine, newspaper, or website.

A list of resources used in an article or on a specific topic.  Also known as references or works cited.

The application of quantitative analysis and statistics to measure specific qualities of a publication.

A type of search allowing users to combine keywords with operators (or modifiers) such as AND, NOT and OR to further produce more relevant results.

Indicates where a book, journal or library material is located in the library. FAU Libraries use the Library of Congress classification system, which uses letters and numbers to designate subjects covered (example: PE1075 .L47 2007).

A library’s comprehensive list of its books, journals, videos and other materials (includes digital). The FAU Library Catalog is available online and is searchable by title, author, subject, etc.

Provides specific information that identifies an article, book or information source. Citations usually include author(s), title, journal name (for articles), publisher (for books), publication date and other appropriate information. Citations are formatted according to standard style manuals such as Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, MLA Handbook, or The Chicago Manual of Style.

The published record of a conference, congress, or symposium, which is sponsored by a professional association or society. Abstracts or reports of papers presented by the participants are often included.

An organized and standardized arrangement of words or phrases used to index and/or retrieve content in a database.

Collection of books and other materials that have high use or have been put aside by professors and can be retrieved at the library service desk or online for electronic resources. From the Library Home Page, select the tab for "Services" above the Big Blue Box. Next click on "Course Reserves."  Reserve materials have a limited checkout period.  

An online collection that may include articles, statistics, images, music, and/or other types of information that are typically searchable by keyword or subject. For example, see Academic Search Premier.

An organized collection of data. The data is taken from a single source or intended for a single project or purpose.

A collection of digitized unique resources, often serving as a repository for the creative content and scholarly resources produced at an institution.

A formal lengthy written original research study on a specialized topic, submitted to a university by a doctoral candidate in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a doctorate.

A unique and persistent string of characters used to identify a journal article, website or other item of intellectual property, typically one in digital form. For example, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k134

Also known as an "electronic book."  A book published in an electronic format.

Also known as an "electronic journal." A journal published in an electronic format, which may be published in print and then made available electronically.

Any library material that is made available electronically, such as an eBook, database or journal article.

Provides off-campus access to selected library electronic resources for current FAU students, faculty and staff. 

When trying to locate full text not available in a particular database or journal, this link searches other databases and the catalog for a source which will provide the full text.  If the library does not have access to the full text in print or online, it will direct you to Interlibrary Loan.

1. Types of materials collected by libraries, including print, media and electronic resources (e.g., books, DVDs and eJournals).

2. Organizing a research paper and its bibliography according to a particular style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).

The complete article or book, and not just the abstract or citation.

Any publication distributed by a governmental body.  Many branches of the federal, state and local government publish information about their activities, research, etc., and make them available to the general public.

Written information produced on all levels of government, academia, business, and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing, i.e., where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body.

System used to make Interlibrary Loan requests. First-time users must register.

An Impact Factor is used to measure the importance or rank of a journal by calculating the number of times selected articles in a journal are cited within the last few years.

1. A list of citations to journal articles or books arranged by subject, author or title. Indexes may be in print or electronic format or both. Access to full text may or may not be provided by Find It @ FAU.  An example of an online index is Web of Science.

2. An alphabetical list of names, subjects, etc., with references to the places where they occur, typically found at the end of a book.

Interlibrary Loan is a service that obtains materials not owned by FAU Libraries, such as copies of journal articles, books, etc. It is also used to request materials not owned by a particular campus library but available from another FAU campus library. Current students, faculty and staff may request materials be sent to the FAU Libraries to be checked out.

A periodical that contains articles that are usually written by experts such as scholars and researchers (example: Sociological Science).

Any significant word or phrase that describes the contents of a document; often used in searching.

A searchable online inventory of FAU Libraries' books and other materials.

Criteria applied to a search to focus and narrow results by date, format, peer-reviewed status, etc.  Also known as filters or facets.

A literature review involves identifying, locating, and examining information and publications on a particular topic to find what has been published on that topic. Subtypes of a literature review include scoping reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.

A periodical that contains articles of general interest written by writers or journalists who may not be experts in a field (example: Time).

A meta-analysis is a subtype of a literature review that is a study of studies. It uses statistical methods and data to summarize the results of independent studies, which are often systematic reviews. 

A scholarly book that covers a single topic in detail, usually written by a specialist in the field.

Provides off-campus access to library electronic resources for current FAU students, faculty and staff. Access is provided through OpenAthens and EZproxy.

A search tool provided by FAU Libraries in which you can perform a combined search of databases, electronic resources, the library catalog, etc.

OpenAthens is a gateway service that provides access to most of the FAU Libraries' licensed electronic resources. 

Refers to a scholarly resource that requires its articles to be critically evaluated by one or more experts on the subject, known as referees. They are responsible for determining if the article falls within the scope of the publication, and for evaluating originality, quality of research, clarity of presentation, etc. May also be called a refereed, academic, or scholarly resource.

A publication that is published on a regular basis (daily, weekly, etc.). Magazines, journals, and newspapers are types of periodicals.  For an example, see The New York Times.

A permanent web address for a specific information source such as an ebook, an article, a record in the library catalog, a video or a database; may also be called a stable link, durable link, persistent link, permanent link or document link.

Scholarly articles that are draft versions of works that have not yet been peer reviewed and published in an academic journal. Preprints may be posted on publicly available online preprint servers.

A first-hand or eyewitness account created at the time an event occurred.  Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journal entries, newspapers, speeches, interviews, government documents, oral histories, recordings, original research, research data, objects, or artifacts.

Refers to a scholarly resource that requires its articles to be critically evaluated by one or more experts on the subject, known as referees. They are responsible for determining if the article falls within the scope of the publication, and for evaluating originality, quality of research, clarity of presentation, etc. May also be called a peer-reviewed, academic, or scholarly resource.