Discusses the empirical importance of Shannon's Information Theory and its impact on information science, and investigates the principle of least effort as a means of broadening the empirical foundation of Information Theory. Listed are 14 sources. (Author/RBF)

Discusses information production processes (IPP)--i.e., continuous mathematical models of production processes such as bibliographies, economic production processes, and social usages of words in a text--from the point of view of concentration theory. Gini's index is studied in the dual framework of IPPs. (27 references) (LRW)

Investigates the relationship between information science and the social sciences through a co-citation cluster analysis of a three-year cumulation of the Social Sciences Citation Index. The internal structure of information science clusters is discussed, as well as external linkages to fields of social science. Thirteen references are listed. (BK)

This article offers comments and clarifications of Egghe's paper, which dealt with information production processes (IPP) and the Gini index. Topics addressed include the length of the Lorenz curve as a concentration measure, the discrete duality operator, and a Bradford-Leimkuhler distribution. (10 references) (LRW)

The concept of information as it is used in ordinary discourse is elucidated, using philosophical methods of conceptual analysis. Five essential and four derivative properties of the phenomena of information are identified. This information concept is contrasted with several proposed concepts in information theory literature, communication theory,…

Presents a model that distinguishes between data as directly observable facts, information as structured collections of data, and knowledge as methods of using information. The discussion covers the likely benefits of the use of the model for a semantic information retrieval system using the concept of semantic categories. (28 references)…

The approach of J. D. Sneed is used to argue for a distinction between theoretical and nontheoretical (or empirical) entities. Attention is directed toward this approach as an important facility for looking at statistics and for constructing a framework for the correct use of statistical theory in information retrieval experiments. (MBR)

Discussion of nonlinear dynamic mechanisms focuses on whether information production and dissemination can be described by similar mechanisms. The exponential versus linear growth of literature is discussed, the time factor is considered, an example using literature from the field of superconductivity is given, and implications for information…

This analysis of information contents of documents (i.e., network of nodes which represent facts reported therein and their conceptual interconnections) yields a method for quantitative measurement of such content. Basic premises, calculation, salient features of the method, and information theories are discussed. Four references, graphic…

This content analysis of library and information science (LIS) research from 1965 to 1985 was conducted to determine the distribution of topics in research articles and the research methodologies that have been used. Results indicated that information storage and retrieval was the most popular topic and that empirical strategies predominated. (20…

Presents results of a study using changes in language in the "Annual Review of Information Science and Technology" over a period of eleven years to determine the effect of such change on index vocabularies. (CWM)

Argues that a major difficulty in using Lotka's law in information science arises from the misuse of goodness of fit tests in parameter estimation. Three approaches for studying Lotka's law are presented: an index approach, a time series approach, and a generating mechanism incorporating these two influential variables to derive an equilibrium…

Investigates the relationships between the parameters of the Simon-Yule model and the shapes of three bibliometric distributions: Lotka's Law of Scientific Productivity; Bradford's Law of Bibliometric Scattering; and Zipf's Law of Word Frequency. The results indicate that the probability of a new entry determines the characteristics of all three…

Describes the use of loglinear statistical models in the field of informetrics, especially for the analysis of information systems. A detailed example is given of developing a model based on loglinear analysis to determine book acquisition patterns in libraries, including mathematical considerations and algorithms. (19 references) (LRW)

Identifies a set of objects that is genuinely indigenous to management information systems and constructs a simple model based on them. The model's four basic entities, which define the scope of information theory, are data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. (Contains 46 references.) (KRN)