The Economist: Historical Archive 1843‐2010
The Economist: Historical Archive 1843‐2010 is a database from Gale Cengage Learning. It provides articles from The Economist for the date range indicated above. No issues of this magazine published after 2010 are provided by this database, including the most current ones.
This resource provides a basic and an advanced search bar and a browsing option. The basic search permits the user to search for terms in an entire document or by key word (i.e., by searching an article’s metadata), and for the search to be limited by publication date. The advanced search allows the user to search for key terms using multiple search bars and the standard Boolean connectors. Queries for key terms can be targeted to search the title, authors name, etc., and can also be limited by date and/or category (e.g., a subject or section name). When using the browse by date function, the user can browse one or more issues of The Economist in a particular year or in a number of years.
The results lists generated by the database’s search and browsing mechanisms are both understandable and easily navigated. However, its search mechanisms can just as frequently produce articles that are off-point as those that are on, and users may have to sort through lengthy lists of results before finding relevant information. Articles, once found, are easy to view (though the scrolling function is slow), print, e-mail, cite, and download. Pricing for this database depends on institution type and the size of the population being served. The purchase price for this database starts at $12,500, and can go up from there, so the price may vary substantially from one institution to another. Potential subscribers should contact the vendor for pricing specific to their institution. The licensing agreement for this database is fairly standard in its provisions and offers no cause for concern. However, before a subscription is agreed to this agreement should be closely examined by potential customers, and if possible, their legal counsel. This database is a good resource for pre-2011 articles from The Economist, but it is certainly not the only one. A number of other Gale Cengage databases provide access to issues of this publication going back to the 1980s, including Academic OneFile and Expanded Academic ASAP. However, these don’t provide the breadth of coverage that The Economist: Historical Archive 1843-2010 does. Therefore, this database would only be of use to those individuals and institutions that could afford the relatively high cost and that need frequent access to articles from The Economist covering a very wide range of dates.
This resource provides a basic and an advanced search bar and a browsing option. The basic search permits the user to search for terms in an entire document or by key word (i.e., by searching an article’s metadata), and for the search to be limited by publication date. The advanced search allows the user to search for key terms using multiple search bars and the standard Boolean connectors. Queries for key terms can be targeted to search the title, authors name, etc., and can also be limited by date and/or category (e.g., a subject or section name). When using the browse by date function, the user can browse one or more issues of The Economist in a particular year or in a number of years.
The results lists generated by the database’s search and browsing mechanisms are both understandable and easily navigated. However, its search mechanisms can just as frequently produce articles that are off-point as those that are on, and users may have to sort through lengthy lists of results before finding relevant information. Articles, once found, are easy to view (though the scrolling function is slow), print, e-mail, cite, and download. Pricing for this database depends on institution type and the size of the population being served. The purchase price for this database starts at $12,500, and can go up from there, so the price may vary substantially from one institution to another. Potential subscribers should contact the vendor for pricing specific to their institution. The licensing agreement for this database is fairly standard in its provisions and offers no cause for concern. However, before a subscription is agreed to this agreement should be closely examined by potential customers, and if possible, their legal counsel. This database is a good resource for pre-2011 articles from The Economist, but it is certainly not the only one. A number of other Gale Cengage databases provide access to issues of this publication going back to the 1980s, including Academic OneFile and Expanded Academic ASAP. However, these don’t provide the breadth of coverage that The Economist: Historical Archive 1843-2010 does. Therefore, this database would only be of use to those individuals and institutions that could afford the relatively high cost and that need frequent access to articles from The Economist covering a very wide range of dates.
Publication date: 01 January 2015
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