[Web4lib] Federated search products and Full Text/Peer Review limiting

[Dale Askey]

Jonathan,

I think your question gets at the heart of one of the core weaknesses of 
federated searching, i.e.- it can't do a better job than (or even as 
good of a job as) any given database's native interface. Unless the 
native interface allows limiting to full text or peer-reviewed articles, 
there's at best dim hope that you could get the former to work, and 
practically none for the latter. Now I know a few of you highly-skilled 
programmer types are just looking to prove me wrong, and for a few 
limited database targets you might succeed, but let's be realistic. With 
a remotely-hosted service, you're never going to have such control over 
the search behavior, and with locally-hosted, you'd need some very, very 
talented folk (read: large budget or blind luck) to get a fed search 
engine to do this. It may have less to do with the technical aspects, 
frankly, and more to do with the potpourri of data that the targets return.

Besides, if you have a good link resolver, why limit to full text 
results? Just slap a link resolver button on each result, and that 
problem is largely solved.

Dale



quoted message:

Our library is considering adding a federated search product, and we've
got a question for those of you now using them.

In your experience, have Federated Search programs been able to reliably
limit to Full Text and/or Peer Reviewed articles?  We're especially
interested in those programs that are hosted remotely rather than
locally.


-- 
Dale Askey
Web Development Librarian
KSU Libraries
118 Hale Library
Manhattan, KS 66506
(785) 532-7672