SPORTDiscus:The Loneliest Little

Database at Oklahoma State University

Dan ChaneyEdmon Low Library

27 April 2006

Why Is It “Loneliest”?

• Because no one (apparently) knows what it is or why you would want to use it…

• Is it just a sports database? NO!

Why SPORTDiscus?

• Only major database that concentrates exclusively on sport research.

• Relevant cover to cover treatment of all key academic sport research journals.

• Combines the scholarly study of sport with the science of human activity, sports medicine and popular sport literature.

• Comprehensive, bibliographic coverage of sport, fitness, sport medicine, physiotherapy and related disciplines.

• Put out by Sport Information Resource Centre (the Centre spelling means it’s international!)

Scope of SPORTDiscus• Comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, international• 60 languages represented• Coverage: 1800 – present (1 citation dates to 1573)• 800 periodical titles covered (OSU owns 140 – 17.5%)• Includes 650,000 records:

– Journal articles = 68%– Books = 12%– Book chapters = 5%– Conference proceedings = 9%– Dissertations & Theses = 3%– Other (Including Websites, Book Reviews, DVD, CD,

etc.) = 3%

Content Level

• Basic = 58%• Intermediate = 17%• Advanced = 25%

Database Subset Content

To Name a Brief List…• Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (digitization

project focuses on Olympic Games and sport history books and serials )

• Handicapped/Disabled Sport and Recreation• International Olympic Committee Museum Database• Heracles – France’s National Sport Database• Atlantes – Spain’s National Sport Database• SIBRADID - Database of the Brazilian System of Sport

Documentation and Information

Sample Subject Coverage• Sports• Physical Fitness• Exercise• Sports Medicine• Sports Science• Physical Education• Kinesiology• Coaching• Training• Sport Administration• Officiating• Sport Law & Legislation• College & University Sport• Disabled Persons• Facility Design & Management• Intramural & School Sport• Doping (Steve)

• Health• Health Education• Biomechanics• Movement Science• Injury Prevention Rehabilitation• Physical Therapy• Nutrition• Exercise Physiology• Sport & Exercise Psychology• Recreation• Leisure Studies• Tourism• Allied Health• Occupational Health & Therapy• Public Health

Top Journals: Exercise Science / Physiology

• British journal of sports medicine• Medicine and science in sports and exercise• Physician and sportsmedicine• International journal of sports medicine• Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness• Clinics in sports medicine• Deutsche Zeitschrift fuer Sportmedizin• Journal of strength and conditioning research• American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation• Canadian journal of applied physiology/Revue canadienne de

physiologie appliquee• Journal of applied physiology• Cinesiologie• Leistungssport• European journal of applied physiology• Sports science

Top Journals: Physical Education

• Research quarterly for exercise and sport• Strategies• Physical educator• Journal of teaching in physical education• JOPERD -The journal of physical education, recreation & dance• STAPS: Revue des sciences et techniques des activites physiques et

sportives• Adapted physical activity quarterly• Journal of the International Council for Health, Physical Education,

Recreation, Sport, and Dance• Quest• Avante• E.P.S. Education physique et sport• Teoria i praktika fiziceskoj kul'tury• Physical education digest• Teaching elementary physical education• Leipziger Sportwissenschaftliche Beitraege

Dan’s “Amusing” Periodical Titles

• Action Martial Arts• Amputee Golfer Magazine• At the Buzzer• Around the Rim• Australian Powerboat• Body Politic• Coffin Corner• Cruising World• Fast Break Alert• Gaming Research and Review Journal• Ice Chips• Journal of Japanese Sword Arts• Journal of Manly Arts• Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations• Kehakultuuriteaduskonna teadus – ja oppemetoodiliste toode kigumik

(Finally!)• Paddles Up• Scottish Curler• Splash

Comparative Search Results“Nutrition and active youth”

– SPORTDiscus – 1,080– ERIC – 163– MEDLINE – 830– PsycINFO – 39

“Exercise/fitness programs for youth”– SPORTDiscus – 4,423– ERIC – 2,302– MEDLINE – 3,519– PsycINFO – 980

“Nutrition and active older adults”– SPORTDiscus – 314– ERIC – 30– MEDLINE – 254– PsycINFO – 25

“Compulsory/daily physical education”– SPORTDiscus – 380– ERIC – 31– MEDLINE – 83– PsycINFO – 10

Overlap of SPORTDiscuss and Medline

• Some overlap.• Example: concussions caused by

physical fitness or sports (diagnosis, treatment, second impact)– SPORTDiscus = 400 hits– Medline = 256 hits– Overlap = 110

Boolean Operator Overview

• And – combines terms so that each citation contains all of the terms. For examples, search soccer and injury to find only articles that contain both terms.

• Or – combines terms to that each citation contains at least one of the search terms. For example, search injury or risk to find results that contain either one of the terms but not necessarily both.

• Not – excludes terms to that each result does not contain the term that follows the not operator. For example, search injury not risk to find results that contain the term injury but not the term risk.

• Parentheses – when parentheses are used with the boolean operators, the terms within the parentheses are searched first as a phrase. For example, (soccer and injury) not risk will find citations that contain both soccer and injury but excluding citations that contain risk.

Truncation/Wildcards

• * = Truncation– Bowl* = bowl, bowls, bowling, bowler,

bowlers…

• ? = Wildcard– wom?n = woman, women, womyn…

Refine Search Options• Linked Full Text• Year Published• Source Title• English Abstracts Only• Language• Country• Publication Type (Audiocassette, Book Analytic, Book Review,

CD-ROM, Computer Disk, Journal Article, Jurisprudence, Microforms, Monograph/Government Document, Serial, Theses/Dissertation, URL, and Videocassette)

• Level of Difficulty (Advanced, Basic, General Interest, or Intermediate)

• Database Subset (here you’ll find “peer reviewed/refereed”)

Conventions

• I generally search databases by subject headings using the Thesaurus.

• Thesauri are your friends, although in SPORTDiscus, your “friends” are not always friendly.

SPORTDiscus’ Thesaurus

• Tends to be quite broad, not really specific.• There are Classification Codes used in the

records (which can be quite specific), but no mechanism to browse a list them (although you can keyword search them).

• So, we’re stuck with the Thesaurus in EBSCOhost.

• Generally it operates as a keyword thesaurus. For example, you’ll combine subject headings of woman and basketball for research on women’s basketball.

A Sample Search…

• A student is looking for information on the treatment of ACL injuries. (ACL is the abbreviation for anterior cruciate ligament – a knee injury seen frequently in athletes.)

• Further, the student is interested in ACL injuries in women and how they are treated.

• Can you use Medline? You could, but Medline doesn’t index Physician and Sportsmedicine (a key journal.) SPORTDiscus does.

• SPORTDiscus handles the sport/sports medicine end of the topic.

ACL Injuries in Women

• Using the Thesaurus in SPORTDiscus (as of January 2006) :– anterior cruciate ligament = 2,575– woman = 42,561– treatment = 18,043– anterior cruciate ligament and woman

and treatment = 18

How About Golf Courses?

• Suppose a student is interested in golf course greens (that is, the grass which is grown on golf courses… as opposed to grass which is a different plant altogether.)

• If a student wants to research golf course grass, we can do this in SPORTDiscus!

Golf Course Grass

• Thesaurus search golf courses and we can browse narrower terms to find green but also a related term turf.

• Subjects: green or turf = 4,546• Subject: golf course = 4,468• golf course and (green or turf) = 1242• To narrow further, we may want to

separate green from turf and treat them separately.

Vegetarian Research

• Suppose we wanted to research vegetarianism in women.

• Subject Headings:– Woman = 42,768– Vegetarianism = 174– Woman and vegetarianism = 19

How ‘Bout the Skateboard Kids?

• Remember the skateboard kids who take Freshman Orientation and want to find research on skateboarding? It’s in SPORTDiscus!

• Subject headings:– Skateboarding = 400

• There are also narrower terms for: aerial, backside aerial, bert, cess slide, skateboard, sliding, and turning.

– Injuries = 35,303– Skateboarding and injuries = 79

Another Example

• Suppose the OSU Women’s Soccer team is having a problem passing the ball. Suppose the players are assigned research on the art of passing the ball in soccer.

• We can do this with SPORTDiscus!• We can’t do this in Medline.• Using the Thesaurus

– Soccer = 17,119– passing = 608– soccer and passing = 114

For the Fans Who Hate Referees (and who doesn’t?)

• Suppose a referee blows a call at an OSU sporting event? It never happens, I know…

• Subject headings:– Referee = 930– Officiating = 5,787– Vision = 1,107– (Officiating or Referee) and Vision = 9

Americans With Disabilities Research

• Suppose we have a student who wants to research wheelchair access to sports facilities. We can do this in SPORTDiscus.

• Subject headings:– Facilities = 12,272– Americans with Disabilities Act = 100– Facilities and Americans with

Disabilities Act = 19

How About Portly Children?

• Suppose a student is interested in researching obesity in children and managing it with physical education classes.

• Subject headings:– Obesity = 2,660– Child = 31,958– Physical Education = 31,643– Obesity and child and physical education =

50

Women’s Basketball Coaching

• Suppose one wanted to research coaching collegiate women’s basketball

• Thesaurus search results:– basketball = 18242– coaching = 29226– woman = 42561– collegiate or college (keywords) = 27067– basketball and coaching and woman and

(collegiate or college) = 39

And to bring it on home…

• Suppose the OSU Library’s softball team wanted to study softball pitchers. No particular reason, but sometimes pitchers walk batters. (razzin’ frazzin…. )

• Not naming names, of course…

Softball Pitching Research

• Subject headings: – softball = 2,150– pitching = 1,021– softball and pitching = 150

• It’s still not going to help me, mind you, because I still think the umpire is blind.

Summary

• SPORTDiscus is the only major database that concentrates exclusively on sport research.

• Relevant cover to cover treatment of all key academic sport research journals.

• Combines the scholarly study of sport with the science of human activity, sports medicine and popular sport literature.

• Comprehensive, bibliographic coverage of sport, fitness, sport medicine, physiotherapy and related disciplines.

• Can serve as a supplement to searches in other databases, such as Medline, ERIC or PsycINFO.