Researchers for small businesses, which may have no access to expensive databases or market research reports, must often rely on information found on the Internet, which can be difficult to find. Although current conventional Internet search engines are now able to index over on billion documents, there are many more documents existing in…

Methods for retrieval of information on chemical compounds utilizing several computer data bases are compared to determine scope of data base coverage. Preparation of search questions is outlined and comparative results are reported indicating the yield from each data base. (6 references) (Author/NH)

Benefits associated with private file services offered by online system hosts in the United States and Europe are outlined, noting currently available services, private file design, file input, costs and charges, service comparisons, security, and videotex services. Three references are included. (EJS)

Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of different types of term combination using the positional logic capability of online information retrieval systems and describes a study in which searches for material on "microwave integrated circuits" were conducted in order to find the most economical way of generating the most relevant…

Evaluates these two bibliographic databases for geosciences information in terms of their content coverage, search methodologies, user effort, and analysis of results. (SW)

Provides database descriptions of ABI/INFORM and Management Contents, two of the most heavily used files for current information on management practices and concepts, recent product development, and production and marketing statistics. Topics addressed include coverage of source publications and currency, indexing policies and practices, and…

Patent information has never been so available, at such low cost, to so many people. Describes patent databases accessible on the Web (Micropatent, Source Translation and Optimization Questel-Orbit QPAT, Internet Patents/Community of Science, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), lists their strengths and weaknesses, and recommends the best…

Reviews three database systems available for searching generic chemical structure representations: (1) Derwent's Chemical Code System; (2) IDC's Gremas System; and (3) Derwent's Markush DARC System. Various types of searches are described, features desirable to users are discussed, and comparison searches are described that measured recall and…

Examines range of coverage and principles of inclusion of dissertations in PsycINFO by comparing searches done on PsycINFO and Dissertation Abstracts Online. Searchers are advised to be skeptical about the accuracy and completeness of vendor documentation and the practical journal literature. Search strategies used are appended. (eight references)…

Describes a progression of tests that were developed for assessing online database accuracy. Results of the tests are discussed and compared; examples of search queries on DIALOG are given; and the possibility of standardizing such tests are considered. (Contains 11 references.) (LRW)

Discusses end-user searching in Boolean information retrieval systems considers the role of search intermediaries and proposes a model of user preferences that incorporates a user's profile. Highlights include document representation; information queries; document output ranking; calculating user profiles; and selecting documents for a local…

Describes a study that compared two electronic document delivery systems, Faxon Finder and UnCover2, by searching seven subjects in various disciplines and checking journal overlap and article overlap. Results show a lack of overlap, suggesting that both systems cover different ground and that a standard database system has yet to be found.…

Presents an improved inverted region quadtree variation called Dynamic Inverted Quadtree that is able to support and index a pictorial database. Pattern-searching algorithms are described, and the space needs of Fully Inverted and Dynamic Inverted Quadtrees are analytically compared based on a model of image randomness expressed as a branching…

This test of the Strategy of Unlimited Aliasing, an indexing method that places terms from several indexers for the same information object in one index, utilized bibliographic records from the ERIC, LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts), and ISA (Information Science Abstracts) databases. The test did not support the indexing method.…

Compares two methods of information retrieval--one that rates documents according to a query and another that uses relevant documents to find further relevant documents (i.e., neighboring documents). Highlights include experiments at the National Library of Medicine; feedback; vector cosine retrieval; and a measure of retrieval effectiveness…