Abstract: a short summary of a article, essay, book, etc. 

Bibliography: a list of resources about a particular topic. Bibliographies are often found at the ends of scholarly books and journal articles. An entire book can be a bibliography, too.

Call number: a number and letter assigned to a book to according to its subject, which determines its shelving location. Duke uses the Library of Congress System to assign call numbers. Example: HQ1090 .H33 2005

Citation: a reference to a source used in an article, essay, book, etc. See Understanding Citations for help in interpreting them.

Format: the physical form in which the information is available. Examples of formats include books, journals, microform, CD-ROM, web pages, etc.

Full-text: in the context of online resources, means that the entire text is available (not just a citation or an abstract).

Journal: a periodical that publishes articles by scholars and researchers in the field. Journals are often published by associations. Journal articles usually include bibliographies. Examples: African Studies Quarterly, Chaucer Review, and Journal of Supercomputing.

Keyword:  any searchable word in an online record (like an entry in the online catalog, or a citation in an online article database like ProQuest).

Magazine: a periodical that publishes articles written for a general audience. Articles in magazines rarely include bibliographies. Examples: Black Enterprise, Rolling Stone, Time.

Periodicals (also called serials): publications which are printed at intervals (daily, monthly, annually, irregularly, etc.), and continue to be printed for an indefinite period of time. Journals, magazines, and newspapers are types of periodicals.

URL (uniform resource locator): address used for web page. An example of a URL is http://library.duke.edu/.