Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : Nov/Dec 2002

General Place for Knowledge: Dialog Knowledge Centers

Do you know what you're looking for but can't quite find it? Do you have a long list of terms to search and don't even know where to begin? Do you need to know how to order a fulltext document? Do you need to reconfigure DialogLink® for a new computer? The Dialog Knowledge Center is ready to help you no matter where in the world you may be! Centers operate in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The three regional Knowledge Centers serve customers throughout the world.

Every member of the Knowledge Center is a dedicated professional with a passion for helping people. They realize that accurate and timely information is vital for you. Each Center is prepared to assist with your questions no matter whether they deal with functionality, intellectual property, business, or science searches or technical support. Many Knowledge Center staff members offer customers the benefits of extensive industry experience and advanced subject degrees, in addition to an in-depth knowledge of Dialog online services.

Most callers ask for help with search questions—Which database is the best resource? What is the appropriate search strategy? How can the special indexing or coding in a database be used to solve a particular problem? Which database has the fulltext of a specific publication? Knowledge Center staff can assist you by guiding you step-by-step through a search in Dialog, sorting search results or refining a search strategy so that you retrieve exactly the information you need. Most often our specialists answer questions immediately; however, if more complex analysis is needed, an expert will investigate and provide thorough responses through direct contact with you either by e-mail or telephone.

Other Services

In addition to product and search support, Dialog regional Knowledge Centers offer a variety of other services to help you. Some of these include:

The Alerts Bureau — Benefit from the search experience of experts and let Dialog subject specialists set up Alerts for you on any topic. Since January 2001, the Alerts Bureau staff has created over 5,000 Alerts for customers worldwide. The Alerts Bureau is a time-saving resource that puts the power of Knowledge Center specialists to work for you! Just fill out the easy-to-use form located on the Dialog Web site at support.dialog.com/alerts/ to provide the information necessary to have the Alert set up on Dialog, DataStar or Profound.

Search Solutions — Some questions are frequently heard. In order to help not only those who call, but all customers who may have the same question in the future, Knowledge Center experts create specialized "Search Solutions." Each Search Solution is designed to help searchers use Dialog effectively to solve a specific research problem. Solutions are categorized according to subject: business, trade, intellectual property, sci/tech, and range from searching for adverse effects of a drug to finding Japanese patents to locating statistical information for a country. Each Search Solution is organized as a step-by-step reference.

Information to Change the World

Finally, the Knowledge Center acts as a sounding board. Any of our specialists is ready to heed your compliments, complaints or suggestions about our products. Your feedback is important to us. Contact us and let us know how Dialog Knowledge Centers can serve you better.

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