Use of evaluation findings is a valued outcome for most evaluators. However, to optimize use, the findings need to be disseminated to potential users in formats that facilitate use of the information. This reflective case narrative uses a national evaluation of a multisite National Science Foundation (NSF) program as the setting for describing the…

Briefly reviews early work in documentation and text processing, and predictions that were made about the creative role of computers in information retrieval. An attempt is made to explain why these predictions were not fulfilled and conclusions are drawn regarding the limits of computer power in text retrieval applications. (Author/CLB)

This timely book provides a foundation in library and electronic research in the fields of nursing and allied health. It explains essential sources and techniques that can be used by nursing students, healthcare researchers, and nurse practitioners who need to gather information independently. Pathways to Nursing covers both physical libraries and…

A project at the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources has resulted in the extension of the ERIC database to microcomputer. Small subject-related files for current-awareness purposes are downloaded from the ERIC tapes and are made available for searching with Apple II Plus microcomputers. Since the target audience for this system is…

Provides overview of Ergonomics Abstracts Retrieval System (EARS), an online bibliographic search and retrieval system in the area of human factors engineering. Other online systems are described, the design of EARS based on inverted file organization is explained, and system expansions including a thesaurus are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Presents the advantages and disadvantages of free text and controlled vocabulary retrieval techniques and a methodology to assist in deciding on the optimal technique for a particular purpose. The relevance of the techniques for expert systems and full text contexts is also discussed and recommendations for further research are made. (Author/EM)

American Chemical Society's Directory of Graduate Research has been put online. Information on faculty research interests and demographics at United States and Canadian universities offering chemical sciences graduate degrees can be retrieved. New concordance codes permit searching at different hierarchical levels, thus providing more information…

Assesses the promotion and development of online information retrieval in China. Highlights include opening of the first online retrieval center at China Overseas Building Development Company Limited; establishment and activities of a cooperative network; online retrieval seminars; telecommunication lines and terminal installations; and problems…

As part of a comprehensive review and analysis of research about the division of labor in higher education, a university library computer system was used to search the ERIC Index, Sociological Abstracts, and Psychological Abstracts. The purpose of these experimental searches was to determine whether online access to computer-held social science…

Discusses indeterminancy of selection of terms by indexers and by inquirers as major factors influencing subject access to documents in document retrieval systems. Five types of interactions between these two indeterminancies are discussed, and a change in traditional method of subject searching is suggested to reduce effect of inter-indexer…

In the past 5 years, each state in the Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina) developed virtual libraries that provide citizens access to licensed databases. This guide describes each state's offerings including the methods of access, resources, and…

This document provides a description of library staff training for keyword/Boolean searching on the library's online catalog, LUIS (Library User Information System), at Indiana State University. A narrative overview describes the circumstances, conditions, and organization of training sessions. Also included are a content outline of the…

MINDS (Multiple Intelligent Node Document Servers) is a distributed system of knowledge-based query engines for efficiently retrieving multimedia documents in an office environment of distributed workstations. By learning document distribution patterns and user interests and preferences during system usage, it customizes document retrievals for…

Electronic databases have become important resources for researchers in many disciplines. While there is no single database designed to cover the field of communications, there are several databases which include material that is of interest to investigators in the field. An experiment was performed to determine which databases would be most…

Written in German, this report summarizes a workshop on teaching and research activities in information science that was held at the City University, London, and attended by faculty and students from the university's Department of Information Science and H.-R. Simon of the GID (Gesellschaft fur Information und Dokumentation), Frankfort am Main,…