This report describes a project which evaluated five IBM and Macintosh bibliographic formatting software programs--ProCite, Sci-Mate, Reference Manager, Notebook II, and Bibliography--and which was conducted by the Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the request of the campus microcomputer support center.…

Reviews commonly used search engines (AltaVista, Excite, infoseek, Lycos, HotBot, WebCrawler), focusing on existing comparative studies; considers quality dimensions from the customer's point of view based on a SERVQUAL framework; and groups these quality expectations in five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and…

Identifies five design requirements for electronic encyclopedias, based on the content and structure of printed encyclopedias and the uses that people make of them. Three existing hypertext programs (Owl International's Guide, HyperCard, and HyperTIES) are compared in terms of their ability to satisfy these design requirements. (CLB)

Compares information requirement-elicitation (IRE) methods for decision support systems (DSS) with knowledge acquisition (KA) methods for expert systems (ES) development. The definition and architectures of ES and DSS are compared and the systems' development cycles and IRE/KA methods are discussed. Differences are noted between ES and DSS…

Describes a study that assessed the availability and use of microcomputer database management interfaces to online public access catalogs. The software capabilities needed to effect such an interface are identified, and available software packages are evaluated by these criteria. A directory of software vendors is provided. (4 notes with…

Discusses the variety of search command languages among online systems and provides suggestions for creating online information retrieval manuals using a database management system such as dBASE III PLUS. An online systems comparison chart is included for INFOGLOBE, INFOMART, DIALOG, QUICK LAW, and REUTERS TEXTLINE. (LRW)

Describes the TIS Intelligent Gateway, developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which uses an extensible meta-machine approach to accommodate unlimited target resources, and provides a universal user interface to simplify communications between the user and target resources. (6 references) (Author/CLB)

Compares the more positive library automation experiences of a small public library with those of a large research library. Topics addressed include collection size; computer size and the need for outside control of a data processing center; staff size; selection process for hardware and software; and accountability. (LRW)

A project involving selection procedures for choosing full-text information retrieval software for government administration-oriented applications and users was undertaken by an Israeli government-owned computer company. A case study and comparison of six software systems were done and a list of 27 selection criteria compiled. (Author/EM)

Describes approaches to developing software automating instructional design (ID), including comparison of information management and expert system approaches. Topics addressed include alternative ID automation systems; ID variables; authoring assistance software; the nature of ID expertise; user-system communication; system evaluation; and user…

Compares a multimedia adult literacy instructional course, Reading to Educate and Develop Yourself (READY), to traditional classroom instruction by studying effects of replacing conventional learning tools with computer-assisted instruction (CD-ROMs and audio software). Results reveal that READY surpassed traditional instruction for virtually…

Describes an experiment comparing the performance of an automatic full-text indexing software for personal computers (i.e., the Quick-Finder facility in WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows) with the human intellectual assignment of indexing terms to each document in a collection. Results are discussed in terms of ease of use, the time factor, and recall…

In response to the increased use of the Internet for information access and dissemination, and the explosion in the availability of resources which may be of interest to end-users, a number of services are now available which provide access to selected and evaluated resources. Many existing Internet search tools are inadequate due to the high rate…

Presents a comparison of two types of compact disc (CD-ROM) foreign language tutorials: (1) those made by publishers who favor an immersion approach; and (2) those made by publishers who use grammar-based approaches. Both types of CD-ROMs address various age groups, skill levels, and learning styles. (JMV)

Three user interfaces to LIBIS, a library catalog accessible through the Internet, were evaluated for use by people who are motor impaired to identify how interface design influences the motor actions necessary to operate the system. Problems and recommendations related to simplicity, consistency, instinctiveness, interaction/feedback, and…