Open AccessBetter Than Brief Tests: Coverage Power Tests of Collection Strength
Author(s) -
Howard D. White
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
college and research libraries/college and research libraries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.886
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 2150-6701
pISSN - 0010-0870
DOI - 10.5860/crl.69.2.155
Subject(s) - subject (documents) , computer science , information retrieval , data collection , test (biology) , library science , statistics , mathematics , paleontology , biology
Improving on ideas developed in Brief Tests of Collection Strength, this paper presents coverage power tests, an empirical method for evaluating collections in all types of libraries by means of ranked holdings counts from OCLC's WorldCat. The new method measures library coverage of subject literatures across levels of the WLN or RLG collection intensity scales that are increasingly difficult to attain. It defines literatures and collections unambiguously, permits objective comparisons of libraries, and is potentially automatable. Results of 38 tests in nine subjects at 30 libraries have high face validity in rating collections. Graphical analysis with the new method also clarifies the bibliometric relation between individual collections and subject literatures.