The authors advocate a systematic procedure involving the identification of: fixed parameters, variable options for each variable parameter, factors affecting a choice among available options, factors affected by a choice among available options, and the optimum sequence in which decisions should be made during the design process. (Author/MF)

The main conclusions are: the human factor appears to be the main variable in all components of an information retrieval system; length of indexes affects performance considerably more than indexing languages; question analysis and search strategies affect performance to a great extent - as much, if not more than indexing. (Author/MF)

As the fourteenth report in a series describing research in automatic information storage and retrieval, this document covers work carried out on the SMART project for approximately one year (summer 1967 to summer 1968). The document is divided into four main parts: (1) SMART systems design, (2) analysis and search experiments, (3) user feedback…

This paper deals with the problem of the referencing or storing methods in information systems which must be designed to allow for rapid retrieval of the key data leading to the desired information or the recovery of the information directly. Considered as a secondary, but frequently desirable, feature for the system is the ability to determine…

The work reported is part of a series of studies aimed at providing information and assistance to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in planning the Biomedical Communications Network (BCN). The first part reviews the literature on systems relevant to BCN design, documents System Development Corporation's position with respect to certain…

GENERALIZATIONS WERE CLASSIFIED AND FIELD TESTED, AND A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM DEVELOPED DURING THIS PROJECT. THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT INVOLVED ORGANIZING GENERALIZATIONS INTO A LOGICAL SYSTEM OF 10 CATEGORIES. THE CODING PLAN WAS TO ASSIGN A 10-DIGIT NUMERIC CODE TO EACH GENERALIZATION AND CATEGORY. TWO DECKS OF CARDS WERE CODED AND PRODUCED, AND A…

Discusses the distinctive differences between the English and Chinese languages from the system designer's point of view and explores the potential problems for Chinese information retrieval systems, focusing on character entry and retrieval. The advantages and disadvantages of current approaches are discussed, and a regular expression search…

Proposals are made for practical approaches to the design of electronic office systems to provide for the effective storage and retrieval of the documents that they generate. Problems of records management and requirements to be met by the designer of an electronic office system are highlighted. Nineteen references are cited. (EJS)

Calculations of storage requirements for retrieval systems using inverted files. Problem of minimal storage requirements for inverted file is solved for different index term distributions. (Author/KP)

Computer routines designed to determine if a song already exists in a song file data base are described. Written in FORTRAN IV, SONG FILE DATA MATCH compares the note sequence of songs in the data base and the one to be added to it. Information is then presented to the user which analyzes the sequence of notes and compares them to other songs.…

This report describes the current status of Project INTREX experiments and provides a detailed technical record. Activities concentrating on the bibliographic access problem involve: (1) the investigation of a digitally-encoded, machine-manipulated augmented catalog, for which the task of preparing entries for 10,000 documents is about half…

A more complete definition of the features offered in present day generalized data base management systems is provided by this second technical report of the CODASYL Systems Committee. In a tutorial format, each feature description is followed by either narrative information covering ten systems or by a table for all systems. The ten systems…

THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DESIGN AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE NATIONWIDE SYSTEM FOR EXCHANGING DESCRIPTIVE, EVALUATIVE PRODUCT INFORMATION AMONG ALL SECTORS OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY ON A COOPERATIVE COST-SHARING BASIS. THE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH A COLLECTION AND EXCHANGE OF DESCRIPTIVE AND EVALUATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SYSTEMS…

The automated identification of students as they progress through an instructional program is described as an essential capability of the Southwest Regional Laboratory's (SWRL) Instructional Management System (IMS). Performance characteristics of procedures for linking data to individual students (whose records are maintained by IMS) are…

A project is being conducted to test the feasibility of an information storage and retrieval system for museum specimen data, particularly for natural history museums. A pilot data processing system has been developed, with the specimen records from the national collections of birds, marine crustaceans, and rocks used as sample data. The research…