DEFINITIONS OF DATABASE

The following are definitions of “database” that are found on the World Wide Web. They are organized into two groups of definitions, those that apply to databases in general and those that apply to computerized databases. Review some of these definitions and identify what they seem to have in common. This will be discussed in class.

General Definition

an organized body of related information
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

A collection of information that has been systematically organized for easy access and analysis. Databases typically are computerized.
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/evaluation_manual/glossary.html

Any organized collection of information; it may be paper or electronic.
www.library.arizona.edu/rio/glossary.htm

A set of data that is structured and organized for quick access to specific information.
www.umkc.edu/registrar/sis/glossary.asp

a collection of data that is organized so that its contents can easily be accessed, managed, and updated.
itclass.heinz.cmu.edu/itppmweb03/group11/project/Glossary/GlossaryIndex.htm

A database is a collection of information categorized by specific fields. Databases are usually searchable by keywords.
www.c7.ca/glossary/

A collection of information organized in a way that allows the quick selection, sorting, and reorganization of data.
webhostingrevealed.com/glossary.htm

A collection of information organized and presented to serve a specific purpose.

www.mediascape.org.uk/code/glossary.php

Computerized Database

A computerized database is an updated, organized file of machine readable information that is rapidly searched and retrieved by computer.
www.mediascape.org.uk/code/glossary.php

A database is a collection of information stored in a computer in a systematic way, such that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. The software used to manage and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). The properties of database systems are studied in information science.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database

Data stored on computer files or on CD-ROM. A database may contain bibliographic, textual or numeric data. The data are usually structured so that they may be searched in a number of ways. A variety of databases is accessible via this website.
www.library.nuigalway.ie/help/jargon/

A database is an organised collection of information records that can be accessed electronically. In the Library this includes indexing and abstracting databases, citation databases or databases of fulltext journal articles.
www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/libskills/main/webzglos.htm

is an organized collection of information stored on a computer. With Optix, a database is an organized collection of electronic documents stored on a computer. The database is structured to facilitate the search and retrieval of information contained in the database.
www.mindwrap.com/infoblurbs/infoblurbs.html

A database is a collection of data that is organized so that its contents can easily be accessed, managed and updated. The most prevalent type of database is the relational database, a tabular database in which data is defined so that it can be reorganized and accessed in a number of different ways. A distributed database is one that can be dispersed or replicated among different points in a network. ...
www.lanyon.com/support/Glossary/Glossarya-d.htm

A collection of information arranged into individual records to be searched by computer.
www.petech.ac.za/library/libglos.htm

a standardized collection of information in computerized format, searchable by various parameters; in libraries often refers to electronic catalogs and indexes.
library.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/lyannott/thesis_guide/libraryterms.html

A collection of electronic records having a standardized format and using specific software for computer access.
www.lib.uconn.edu/using/tutorials/instruction/glossary.htm

Any of a wide variety of repositories (often computerized) for observations and related information about a group of patients (eg, adult males living in Göteborg) or a disease or an intervention (eg, drug therapy) or other events or characteristics. Depending upon criteria for inclusion in the database, the observations may have controls. ...
www.gulflink.osd.mil/medsearch/glossary/glossary_d.shtml

"An organized collection of information, data, or citations stored in electronic format that can be searched for specific information or records by techniques specific to each database." -from the University of Texas, San Antonio Library: Library Lingo Library. Databases include Academic Search Elite and Lexis Nexis.
www.wcu.edu/library/researchref/Glossary.htm

A collection of data: part numbers, product codes, customer information, etc. It usually refers to data organized and stored on a computer that can be searched and retrieved by a computer program.
www.vidoni.com.au/html/glossary.html

a collection of related electronic records in a standardized format, searchable in a variety of ways, such as title, author, subject, and keyword. Common examples of databases are the library catalog and citation indexes.
www.library.appstate.edu/tutorial/glossary/glossary.html

A collection of data organized so that various programs can access and update the information.
www.angelfire.com/bc/nursinginformatics/glossary.html

A body of information in machine readable form which is searched on a computer terminal. Records for materials owned by the ASU Libraries comprise the ASU Libraries Online Catalog database.
www.asu.edu/lib/help/liblingo.htm

An organized collection of information in computerized format. Databases may consist of many types of information, including text, numerical data, or images. In the CWU Library, database most frequently ref ers to computerized indexes of books, magazines, journals, and newspapers. For a complete list of the electronic information databases available in the Library, see the Databases Page.
www.lib.cwu.edu/research/help/cwuglos.html

An organized collection of records presented in a standardized format searched by computers. WebPals, ID Weeks Library's Online Catalog, is a database. The periodical indexes available through the library are also databases.
www.usd.edu/library/instruction/glossary.shtml

A collection of data organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer.
www.clock.org/~jss/glossary/d.html

A collection of related data stored in one or more computerized files in a manner that can be accessed by users or computer programs via a database management system.
sparc.airtime.co.uk/users/wysywig/gloss.htm

A logical collection of interrelated information, managed and stored as a unit, usually on some form of mass-storage system such as magnetic tape or disk. A GIS database includes data about the spatial location and shape of geographic features recorded as points, lines, areas, pixels, grid cells, or tins, as well as their attributes.
www.mcaggis.com/glossary.htm