Database
Database, also called electronic database, any collection of data, or information, that is specially organised for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. Databases are structured to facilitate the storage, retrieval, modification, and deletion of data in conjunction with various data-processing operations. A database management system (DBMS) extracts information from the database in response to queries.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Digital Object Identifier [DOI]
A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique alphanumeric identifier applied to a specific piece of intellectual property, particularly one presented in an online environment - be that object a book, a scientific paper, a song, an image, or something else. Unlike a conventional Web address, or URL, a DOI specifies not the location of an online object, but rather its content; a DOI is thus a "persistent" identifier, and remains associated with the object irrespective of changes in the object's Web address.
Source: ScienceMag
Descriptor
Descriptor: A controlled vocabulary term, or standardised term, assigned to an item in an index or database that is used for a search, also called a subject heading in a library catalogue.
Source: Elmer E. Rasmuson Library
Dewey Decimal Classification System
DDC is a library classification system that uses numbers in the range 000-999, with each number having the capability to be divided hierarchically using decimal places. UJ Library uses the DDC system.
Go back to glossary
Dissertation
A long essay or dissertation involving personal research, written by a candidate for a university degree. See Thesis