Eva Dimmock

In the introduction, the main features of the INSPEC Database are first outlined: subjects covered, the source documents from which the Database is produced, and the world-wide coverage.

The most important criteria that are applied in selecting publications for inclusion on the INSPEC Database are then outlined: the proportion of articles in a publication that falls within the INSPEC covered subjects; the type of publication and its publisher; scientific and technical content; the academic format (title, abstract, references); and original language (availability of English abstract or at least titles).

This part of the tutorial aims at the users or potential users of the INSPEC Database, as well as researchers who wish to see their articles being published on the INSPEC Database.

The second part of the tutorial is devoted to the INSPEC implementation on Ovid and is useful both for current INSPEC users, as well as for users of the Ovid interface in general; a number of Ovid search tools are demonstrated including Mapping, Thesaurus, various Index screens and the Citation Manager.

The most important INSPEC search fields available are described. The role of the added-value search fields (such as Subject Headings and Classification Codes) is demonstrated with examples which illustrate how they can be used to achieve highly relevant and comprehensive results.

The participants of this tutorial are given an opportunity to attend a hands-on session where they can test the examples described, or try the search techniques described on their own examples. They also receive a workbook that matches the PowerPoint presentation, the Online Database Catalogue, and a set of exercises for the hands-on session.