Creating an Electronic Database for the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data

Published

October 1, 2000

Author(s)

D M. Blakeslee, Angela Y. Lee, S L. Young

Abstract

Creating a database version of a journal by extracting data from the articles, storing those data in a database management system, and building a user interface is considerably different from the process involved in creating a full text online version of a journal. Many issues need to be resolved, such as how to design a database system to accommodate the diversity of data found among different articles and how to make those data available to users. These are two of the many problems faced in an effort at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create a database version of the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data. The goal of this NIST project is to add value to the journal by implementing, through a web interface tailored to scientists, features such as property data searches across articles and easy access to data in electronic format. This database is planned to work in tandem with the full text online version of the journal, the first issue of which was launched by the American Institute of Physics in February 2000. Thus, under this model, once the database becomes available, journal subscribers will have access to three different products: the print journal, a text online version and an electronic numerical database, with appropriate links established and maintained between the two online products. The design and implementation of the web-accessible database is envisioned as a multiphase project, the first step being the creation of a database of data selected from articles published in 1999 or early 2000. This paper describes the various stages of the process that was followed in creating the initial prototype system for this electronic journal database.

Proceedings Title

Online Proceedings of the 17th International CODATA Conference

Conference Dates

October 15-17, 2000

Conference Location

Baveno, IT

Conference Title

International CODATA Conference

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

chemical reference data, data system, database, electronic journal, physical reference data, web interface

Citation

Blakeslee, D. , Lee, A. and Young, S. (2000), Creating an Electronic Database for the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, Online Proceedings of the 17th International CODATA Conference, Baveno, IT (Accessed April 25, 2024)