The objective of this article is to analyze the searching and indexing techniques of educational search engines' implementation while treating future challenges. Educational search engines could greatly help in the effectiveness of e-learning if used correctly. However, these engines have several gaps which influence the performance of e-learning…

Reviews previous work on producing knowledge by the use of information retrieval or classification schemes, and describes techniques by which hidden knowledge may be retrieved, i.e., serendipity in browsing and use of appropriate search strategies. Possible future methods based on relational indexing or artificial intelligence are also explored.…

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)

Considers patent subject searching capabilities of major online databases, noting patent claims, "deep-indexed" files, test searches, retrieval of related references, multi-database searching, improvements needed in indexing of chemical structures, full text searching, improvements needed in handling numerical data, and augmenting a…

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)

The Intergovernmental Records Project (IRP) was established by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to facilitate the exchange of information about federal records. This report focuses on six categories of intergovernmental records targeted by the IRP for description in the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN) national…

Discusses the overlap of research in artificial intelligence and information retrieval, focusing on the papers included in this special issue of Information Processing and Management. Highlights include the emphasis on evaluation and testing in prior research and use of manual and automatic indexing, expert systems, knowledge representation, and…

Review of office filing facility filing and retrieval mechanisms for unstructured and mixed media information focuses on free text methods. Also discussed are the state of the art in handling voice and image data, problems with searching text surrogates to implement free text content retrieval, and work of Project Minstrel. (Author/MBR)

This overview of the current capabilities of subject access in online public catalogs discusses keyword searching versus subject cataloging, users' views of the online catalog, and user-friendly versus user-hostile systems. Existing online catalogs in public and academic libraries are cited as examples. (EJS)

Synthesizes major findings from research on the magnitude of individual differences in information retrieval (IR) tasks and suggests implications for practice and design of IR systems and interfaces. Topics discussed include indexing consistency, relevance judgments, selection of subject headings, selection of search terms, and search retrievals.…

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…

This review takes a critical approach in summarizing and evaluating the methodology and scope of catalog use studies, with emphasis on the subject approach to card catalog searching. Subject access is defined in this report; however, the process of subject searching, described repeatedly in library literature, has been based upon common sense…

Discusses forces at work within today's on-line data base environment which could lead to the emergence of a distributed information network; identifies several important modules in such a network, including an automated subject switching module; and reports research investigations, critical issues, and preliminary findings with regard to…

Review of the 1991 literature on subject access in online systems discusses users and subject searching; subject access in online catalogs, including improvement of the database, search processing, the user interface, and user understanding; subject cataloging and indexing; information retrieval; thesaurus and indexing approaches; classification;…

Addresses problems with automated bibliographic and full-text storage of scientific articles. The role of the scientific article is described, the structure is explained, current indexing and information retrieval techniques are criticized, new possibilities using a rhetoric syntax or argumentational syntax are explored, and the use of hypertext…