Online labs (OLs) constitute digital educational tools which can have a significant role in supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in their daily teaching practice. Designing STEM lessons supported by specific OLs is a challenging task and thus, it is useful for STEM teachers to be able to share their lesson…

In this paper, we propose a syntax-based text retrieval system for on-line language learning and use a fast regular expression search engine as its main component. Regular expression searches provide more scalable querying and search results than keyword-based searches. However, without a well-designed index scheme, the execution time of regular…

Describes a new text analysis approach to automate the indexing process, i.e., an automated keywording system designed to behave as a human expert indexer, and explains the rule base of the approach, which consists of lists of insertion and deletion rules generated by subject matter experts. (32 references) (Author/SD)

Describes the background, document and subject coverage, access points, indexing, and other features of the online version of Energy Bibliography and Index (EBIB). A set of nine figures illustrate such things as a sample EBIB record, searchable fields in the EBIB database, and searching EBIB by index terms. (JL)

Studied the relationship between the vocabulary of user queries and the vocabulary of documents relevant to the queries, as well as the value of adding to the document description record in a retrieval system keywords from previous queries for which the document had proved useful. Eight references are listed. (FM)

Four papers are included in Part One of the eighteenth report on Salton's Magical Automatic Retriever of Texts (SMART) project. The first paper: "Content Analysis in Information Retrieval" by S. F. Weiss presents the results of experiments aimed at determining the conditions under which content analysis improves retrieval results as well…

Describes the use of FAMULUS, a database management system, to teach library science students at Case Western Reserve University indexing, computerized file construction, and online information retrieval. The special features of FAMULUS and their use in course instruction are outlined and evaluated. A 19-item reference list is attached. (Author/JL)

The development and testing of the Browsing On-line With Selective Retrieval (BROWSER) text retrieval system allowing a natural language query statement and providing on-line browsing capabilities through an IBM 2260 display terminal is described. The prototype system contains data bases of 25,000 German language patent abstracts, 9,000 English…

Representatives from three companies (Management Contents, ABI/INFORM, Predicasts) explain the coverage, content, thesauri, updating, products, and capabilities of their data bases. A panel of librarians from (1) a special library, (2) an academic library, and (3) a public library report on the use of business data bases in their respective…

Describes a clustering algorithm designed for dynamic data bases and presents an update procedure which maintains an effective document classification without reclustering. The effectiveness of the algorithms is demonstrated for a subset of the Cranfield collection. (Author)

What is the desirability and usefulness of different thesaurus displays used either singly or in groups? Is an alphabetical listing of terms with cross references more useful to an indexer than a complete hierarchical display? Is the permuted or the rotated term index more useful to the indexer or retriever? Is an alphabetical display along with a…

Reports the results of experiments using colon classification for the analysis, representation, and retrieval of primary information from the full text of documents. Recall, precision, and search length measures indicate colon classification did not perform significantly better than Boolean or simple word occurrence systems. Thirteen references…

Compares the user features of an in-house online search system based on automatic indexing with those of commercial search services, considering specific user types, file structure and applications, and the basic operating system environment. (FM)

Discusses how to make better indexes for online documentation. (SR)

Briefly reviews early work in documentation and text processing, and predictions that were made about the creative role of computers in information retrieval. An attempt is made to explain why these predictions were not fulfilled and conclusions are drawn regarding the limits of computer power in text retrieval applications. (Author/CLB)