Recent technological developments related to the World Wide Web including mobile computing, social media, and online videos are shaping the way we learn. As argued in the present commentary, the majority of educational psychological research that has examined how individuals learn by searching the Web, however, has not kept up with this pace.…

In this paper we present the state of the art in writer identification and verification of handwritten text. In addition, a special and extensive survey of writer identification and verification of Arabic handwritten text is also included. Different feature extraction techniques are addressed showing the different research groups' efforts as well…

Introduction: Evaluation plays an important role in users' information searching and retrieving processes. While previous research mainly focuses on applied criteria, less research is on other dimensions of evaluation. This study explores the dimensions of evaluation activities including criteria applied, elements examined, activity engaged in and…

Evaluates the retrieval performance of an algorithm that automatically categorizes medical documents, which consists in assigning an International Code of Disease (ICD) based on well-known information retrieval techniques. Reports on experimental results that tested precision using a database of over 20,000 medical documents. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of finding relevant documents in electronic document collections focuses on an evaluation of the Kea automatic keyphrase extraction algorithm which was developed by members of the New Zealand Digital Library Project. Results are based on evaluations by human assessors of the quality and appropriateness of Kea keyphrases. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of evaluation methodology in information retrieval focuses on the average precision over a set of fixed recall values in an effort to evaluate the retrieval effectiveness of a search algorithm. Highlights include a review of traditional evaluation methodology with examples; and a statistical inference methodology called bootstrap.…

Describes the development of a method for the evaluation and comparison of interactive information retrieval systems, which are based on the concept of a simulated work-task situation and the involvement of real end users. Highlights include real and simulated information needs; relevance assessments; and the dynamic nature of information needs.…

Discusses approaches to the integration of query-based information retrieval and browsing in a hypertext network. A prototype system developed to evaluate the proposed approach in terms of retrieval effectiveness and search efficiency is presented, and design and implementation issues concerning the prototype are considered. (30 references) (EA)

Examines the problems of developing a framework and testbed for quantitative assessment of image retrieval effectiveness. To better harness the extensive research on content-based retrieval and improve capabilities of image retrieval systems, this article advocates the establishment of common image retrieval testbeds consisting of standardized…

Discusses topical relevance and situational relevance, which takes into account the impact of the retrieval system on the user, in the context of medicine. Topics addressed include scientific validity; limitations of current evaluation methodology, including recall and precision; and a framework for future retrieval research based on an…

Describes a study conducted at Oregon Health Sciences University that compared the use of three retrieval systems by medical students: a Boolean system, a word-based natural language system, and a concept-based natural language system. Results showed no statistically significant differences in recall, precision, or user preferences. (Author/LRW)

Presents the human evaluation of ILIAD, a program for machine-aided indexing that was designed to assist expert librarians in computer-aided indexing and document analysis. Topics include controlled indexing and free indexing; natural language and concept-based information retrieval; evaluation methodology; syntactic variations; and a comparison…

Almost overnight, the World Wide Web has made the solution of "classic" information retrieval problems a pressing commercial goal. The various information retrieval solutions being offered on the Web are quite familiar to the librarian. The various Web search sites make use of "traditional" inverted indexes, manual indexing,…

Examines the effectiveness of online searching for embedded stories, poems, essays, and other literary works in the Magazine Index and Modern Language Association Bibliography databases. Strategies and results of 16 test searches set up to test the access capabilities of the two databases are profiled. (SW)

In 3 experiments the authors examined changes in successive exemplar generation percentages within categories defined semantically (e.g., fruit-P, fruit-A, fruit-M) and by 1st letter (e.g., insect-C, sport-C, car-C), with a mixed control condition (e.g., fruit-P, insect-C, disease-M). Retrieval success declined across 12 successive items in both…