NEWS FROM THE CURRENT INDEX TO STATISTICS: OLDER ITEMS
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- Complex Queries interface using SQL database (April, 2001)
Users of CIS are encouraged to try out the new Web interface using SQL queries. This interface is reached by choosing the "Complex Queries Using SQL Engine" link on the main query site page, http://query.statindex.org/.
Among the features of this search interface are:
- Structured queries using "and", "or" and "not" connectors;
- Specify last name and first name or initial for authors;
- Partial author search: find alternative forms for author names (useful when many authors have same last name);
- Journal coverage information: get article count for any covered journal by year;
- Download contents of a journal volume;
- HTML output as well as BibTeX, Tagged Text, and Refer.
We also have developed tools for uploading records to the SQL database before the complete year's entries have been processed, reducing delays. At present, in addition to the full 1999 coverage, about 1500 entries with 2000 publication dates are on the SQL database, and we will be continuously updating it over the coming months.
- George Styan appointed as CIS Abstracting Editor (June, 2000)
George P. H. Styan, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at McGill University, has been appointed as Abstracting Editor of CIS. He succeeds Klaus Hinkelmann, who served as Abstracting Editor from 1995 through 1999 and is currently completing indexing of 1999 publications. George has extensive editorial experience; among his other service, he is currently editor of Image-The Bulletin of the International Linear Algebra Society and formerly was editor-in-chief of Chance and the IMS Bulletin. George is also a former member of the CIS Management Committee. We thank Klaus for the excellent work he has done over the past five years, and look forward to continued expansion of our coverage and products under George's leadership. Editorial suggestions, including corrections and additions of bibliographic items (see below regarding Contributing Editors), can be sent to George, styan@together.net, or Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University, Burnside Hall Room 1005, 805 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6, Canada).
- Contributing Editors sought to extend CIS coverage (June, 2000)
The success of CIS depends to a large extent on the dedicated work by its Contributing Editors. They scan about 200 "selected article journals" outside the main stream of statistics and probability for articles with substantial statistical or probabilistic content for inclusion in CIS. In order to increase the range and coverage of such journals and to replace retiring Contributing Editors the Editors of CIS are always looking for volunteers to serve as Contributing Editors.
The criterion for inclusion of an article is that it contains a contribution to statistical methodology or a substantial and innovative application of methodology, not simply a routine use of statistics. Among the areas represented are agriculture, biology, computing, economics, education, epidemiology, genetics, insurance, management, mathematics, medicine, operations research, philosophy, physical sciences, psychology, and social sciences.
A list of current selected-article journals for which scanners are now being sought is posted on this site. If you are interested in being a scanner, look over this list for journals that you regularly read (now, or potentially). New suggestions (perhaps a subject matter journal that you publish in or that you read regularly) are always welcome, especially if accompanied by an offer to scan that journal regularly for suitable articles. If you run across an article that you think is suitable in an issue from 1997 or earlier of a non-core journal, and it is not in the most recent edition of the CIS database, this may indicate that the journal is a candidate to be added to the list of selected-article journals. We are also interested in increasing our coverage of journals that publish in languages other than English. Titles of articles not in English will be included in CIS together with an English translation. Suggestions for new "core journals" will also be most welcome.
If you would like to help by becoming a Contributing Editor, please send your name and selection of journals (or general area of interest) to the Abstracting Editor, Dr. George Styan (contact information above), who will send you instructions. Each Contributing Editor's name is acknowledged in the printed volume of CIS and each Contributing Editor will receive a complimentary copy of either the printed volume or the CD-ROM version of CIS for his or her personal use.
- CIS on the Web: free and licensed access to databases (June, 2000)
Since its inception just over a year ago, the CIS central Web server for database queries (query.statindex.org) has been very successful. Over 80 institutions now make use of this service, which offers an improved interface while imposing no administrative burden on the subscriber. All institutional subscribers (university, general and commercial licenses) are eligible to obtain access to this site. We thank Associate Editor Douglas Bates of the University of Wisconsin for donating his time and technical skills to set up this server.
To extend the benefits of this server, and CIS in general, as widely as possible, two free servers are being run from the same site. The first indexes the entire contents of The American Statistician since its inception, and is the product of a special project of the American Statistical Association.
A second server includes the complete contents of the CIS database, but with a 6-year lag (currently, records through 1991). The latter is intended as a service to individuals and institutions that cannot afford the license fee but could benefit from access to a partial version of the database.
Either of these query services may be reached on the web at the same URL as the main query server, query.statindex.org.
Home | Status of CIS Releases | Contributed articles journalsLast updated: 02/13/2004 [Send a question or comment]
