Comparing four CAB abstracts platforms from a veterinary medicine perspective

Abstract

CAB Abstracts® is the premier database for the veterinary medical literature. This research evaluated search performance, using recall and precision, and compared interface features and of the CAB Direct®, EBSCOhost®, ISI, and OvidSP interfaces to CAB Abstracts. While differences were found in search formulation, there were no statistically significant differences in precision or recall for ten veterinary searches, and all interfaces provided a good set of standard features. Additional evaluation through focus groups and user studies is necessary to determine the utility of many of the advanced interface features and to further evaluate impact of differences in search formulation requirements. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.