Examines how informetric characteristics of information retrieval (IR) system databases can be used to help system designers decide what type of file structures would provide the best performance. The development of appropriate models describing database contents is highlighted in this first part of a two-part study. (30 references) (LRW)

Presents abstracts of 15 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Topics include navigation and information utilization in the Internet, natural language processing, automatic indexing, image indexing, classification, users' models of database searching, online public access catalogs, education for information professions, information services,…

This second report on a two-part study on the application of informetrics to information retrieval (IR) system design used models of database contents in a factorial simulation study at the University of Western Ontario. The study explored whether different file structures were better suited for different informetric environments. (32 references)…