NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/comp/sys/mac/database/1468

Internet Message Format | 1992-11-18 | 1.9 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!sun-barr!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!rpi!psinntp!psinntp!fourd!Thomas_W._Martin
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.databases
Distribution: world
From: [e-mail]
Organization: 4th Dimension BBS
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 15:50:06 EST
Subject: 4-D or FMP for research notes?
Lines: 32

I am a graduate student in clinical psychology and
have to write a number of research papers in the
course of my studies.  In the past I have been using
the outliner program MORE from Symantec to organize
my research notes, various drafts and the final
paper.  As you can imagine this becomes quite
cumbersome as the size of the project grows. I have
begun to think about writing my dissertation and I
need to utilize an approach that is more efficient
and productive.  Some have suggested that I try a
relational database program like 4th Dimension while
others have said that 4-D is too complicated and
will take too long to learn and that I should try
something cheaper and less complicated like
FileMaker Pro. However the cost of the program will
not be the deciding factor in this decision for me.

It seems to me that the relational qualities of 4th
Dimension would be ideal for organizing a large
written project using many sources.  Has anyone who
is reading this had experience using 4-D as a
database for research notes and editing them to form
the final document? How difficult is it to set up
4-D to take advantage of its features in such a
project?  Thanks in advance for sharing your
thoughts and experiences. Tom Martin
[e-mail]
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