Methods and systems for searching databases and displaying search results

A computer system for searching databases and displaying search results, comprising:

• one or more databases storing information regarding publications, said information comprising author, title, date of publication, abstract, cited references, and citing references data;
• and
• one or more Internet servers in communication with said one or more databases;
• wherein at least one of said one or more Internet servers is in communication with and configured to transmit data to a Web browser application resident on a user's computer, and wherein said data is sufficient to enable said browser to display:
• (a) a search page that allows said user to input publication search parameters;
• and
• (b) a results page comprising:
• a tabular display of results that allows said user to sort results according to date, relevance, author, source title, and number of citations to each publication, wherein said display of results further comprises an indication of availability of a link allowing said user access to the full text for each respective result and a link to at least one aspect of the publication corresponding to said result, and
• a listing of subsets of said results, located on screen and separate from said display of results, wherein said listing of subsets comprises a source title subset, a author name subset, a year subset, a document type subset, and a subject area subset, wherein the number of results in each said subset is listed adjacent to each respective subset to allow for at-a-glance evaluation of said results,
• wherein said subsets are user selectable, and wherein said user may limit said results on said results page to said selected subsets and said user may exclude from said results on said results page said selected subsets;
• (c) a record page for providing further details of a result, said record page including a reference citing to said result.