Explores the concept of information retrieval and summarizes the development of information retrieval systems. The role of relevance judgments as a systems test is discussed, principles of what information systems can and cannot be expected to achieve are presented, and areas of research interest are identified. (43 references) (CLB)

Presents a method of modeling the relevance relationship in information retrieval to answer the question of the theoretical limits of certain statistical methods. Hypergeometric probability distribution is used to construct an abstract model of a database of MEDLINE records, and results of tests of vector retrieval methods are reported. (28…

After reviewing the literature on automatic indexing research an experiment is described which examined term distribution and the effectiveness of the Two Poisson and Three Poisson Models in identifying good index terms. The conclusion reached is that these models should be applied with caution in document retrieval. (25 references) (EAM)

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)

Distinguishes between document-oriented and user-oriented indexing and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of request-oriented and automated indexing. Request-oriented indexing is difficult to implement with human, a priori indexing. Automated indexing can be tailored to individual requests, but most research in this area focuses on global…

Surveys the current state of minicomputer-operated information systems capable of incorporating linguistic features, focusing on the Minicomputer Operated Retrieval (Partially Heuristic) System. Consideration is given to the automation of the indexing process and to available search strategies. (FM)

Views automatic indexing as a two-tiered word frequency analysis that involves selection of a technical vocabulary and identification of document keywords. Assumptions, criteria, evaluation, and relevance are discussed. (JD)

Summarizes various linguistic approaches proposed for document analysis in information retrieval environments. Topics discussed include syntactic analysis; use of machine-readable dictionary information; knowledge base construction; the PLNLP English Grammar (PEG) system; phrase normalization; and statistical and syntactic phrase evaluation used…

Presents an historical overview of Vannevar Bush's efforts to develop a machine for free-form indexing and computerized information retrieval. Descriptions of the Memex concept and two related machines--the Rapid Selector and the Comparator--are provided; and the shift in emphasis to a device for business or cryptanalytic purposes is discussed.…

Describes the advantages of a prototype retrieval system that uses statistically based ranked retrieval of records rather than traditional boolean methods, especially for end users. Several new techniques are also discussed including bit mapping, pruning, methods of building inverted files, and types of search engine. (26 references) (EAM)

Reports on a study of index term selection techniques in a small experimental keyword information retrieval system. Two experiments are described which show that user success is improved by increasing the number of terms per object used. Implications for larger databases are considered. (22 references) (EAM)

Examines current activities in subject analysis of large bibliographic databases to assist database managers in making cost-effective decisions. Issues addressed include manual indexing aids, automatic indexing, and connecting indexing terms. Several software packages are described, and future research directions are suggested. (58 references)…

Identifies current trends in the automation of indexing, of information retrieval, and of interaction between the system and the users. Topics discussed include location, navigation, and indexing; digital libraries; matching documents to queries; weight of concepts; query structure, including fuzzy sets; algorithms; stemming; clustering; users'…

Describes the development of a software system, SIMPR (Structured Information Management: Processing and Retrieval), that will process documents by indexing them and classifying their subjects. Topics discussed include information storage and retrieval, file inversion techniques, modelling the user, natural language searching, automatic indexing,…

The emphasis of this text is that the problems of information retrieval are the intellectual ones of subject analysis and description. These problems are not easily solved by technology alone, although certain inroads are being made by knowledge-based expert systems and other computer aids to indexing. Linguistic approaches are also showing…