Hi Judy,

The AMEP Research Centre at Macquarie might be some help - Their DELTAA database sounds similar to this - it includes ELT articles from Aust, NZ and SE Asia and is updated quarterly. http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/resources/deltaa

Regards

Paul Moore

Hi Judy,

I think this is a really good idea, and would save many of us a lot of time.
I have made some comments under each of your questions:

1. Should it contain only refereed publications?
No, I don't think it should be limited to refereed publications; for example it may include reports, lists of research data, conference presentations, etc. Basically anything that may be useful is my feeling.

2. Should it contain only Australian publications? Australian and NZ publications? World-wide publications?
World-wide would be my preference, but there will most probably be a strong emphasis on Australian and NZ publications anyway.

3. Are the search terms adequate (see first section of attachment)?
Yes, the search terms are a good start, but you can always add to them. And with reference to your first question, you could have a section for non-refereed discussion papers, policy documents, etc.

4. What other keywords or article types should be added?
See above.

5. What other information do we need from authors (second section of attachment)?
I think the information in the attachment is enough.

6. Are there any copyright issues I need to address?
Not if it is simply going to be a reference list. If the idea is to provide access to full articles (like eprints), you will need to consult with a specialist, but that would be a lot of work to maintain/ manage.

These are just my initial thoughts. I hope this helps. What do other people think?

Cheers,

Henk

great start, Judy

all publications should be included

I suggest a few more keywords:
• academic language (+ learning?)
• English for Academic Purposes

I think the data base should be international, with sections: AUS+NZ, UK, North America, South Africa, Other. And, as you suggest, emphasis on AUS/NZ stuff.

cheers
alex

Judy this is fantastic. It is timely and a really important professional step forward.

A couple of things: if you look on the ASLC web page (academicskills.anu.edu.au) when students search for courses, materials, podcasts... related to their ALL need, it actually works as a searchable database. I envisage this too would do so. It was designed by Chris Cook (who designed the AALL website etc etc) and it may provide a 'prototype' for what you want.

Second, Brigid Ballard and John Clanchy spent huge amounts of time collecting and cataloguing ALL research articles - and the archive we have in hard copy goes up to 1999 and slightly beyond. It is a good capture of early thinking, reporting and research into AALL issues. If there were a way of adding that collection to the database it would be great, and I would be most willing to assist.

I think at this stage to say yes to all your categories - and then add/delete as necessary to include material and refine searches as the database exponentially expands. It has been interesting flicking through the AALL Discussion Forum and seeing what categories are used most often and by whom. So in a way what you are setting up is going to be organic - and initially the focus will be 'getting it up there' - the material that is.

Cheers
Annie

Hi Judy

What a great initiative! Perhaps we might be able to develop some connection bewteen your database and the 2007 Towards benchmarking project at some point. What do you think?

regards
Bronwyn