1. In an electronic communications network (“network”), a computing device coupled with the network, the computing device comprising: a central processing unit adapted to load data received via the network and into a local database of the computing device; a computer readable memory, the computer readable memory coupled to the central processing unit and adapted to store and enable accessibility to the local database, the central processing unit adapted to: a) associate a data structure stored in the local database with a source record type of data of a remote database (“source database”) accessible via the network; b) initiate a first query, the first query requesting a notice of changes to a first plurality of records of the source database associated with date-time updates found within a first time period; c) transmit the first query to the network; d) receive a first set of records from the source database via the network, the first set of records comprising a notice of changes to a first plurality of source records of the source database that occurred within the first time period, whereby the restriction of the first time period limited the computational and communications load placed on the network in responding to the first query and thereby reducing the likelihood of a timing out or an unsuccessful query attempt; e) updating the local database with the first set of records; f) automatically derive a second time period at least partially in view of a quantity of information received in step d, wherein a duration of the second time period is automatically generated in light of a most recent previous query between the computing device and the network, whereby the likelihood of an unsuccessful query attempt by the computing device is reduced and a query time frame determined by the second time period is large enough to produce a non-trivial set of records; g) initiate a second query, the second query requesting via the network a second notice of changes to a second plurality of records of the source database, wherein each record of the second plurality of records of the source database has an associated date-time update found within the second time period; and h) transmit the second query to the network.