Discussion of XML focuses on indexing techniques for XML documents, grouping them into flat-file, semistructured, and structured indexing paradigms. Highlights include searching techniques, including full text search and multistage search; search result presentations; database and information retrieval system integration; XML query languages; and…

Discusses recommendation, or preference ordering, in document retrieval systems that ranks documents in order of the likelihood with which they match the preferences of any person searching the system. Describes the ERIn (Evaluation-Recommendation-Information) model, a decision-theoretic framework for understanding information-related activity…

Describes a study evaluating the effectiveness of the Information Retrieval, Ltd. (IRL) Life Sciences Collection database in a field where BioSciences Information Service (BIOSIS) claims to offer comprehensive coverage of the international literature. The two databases are described, and the depth of controlled indexing is compared for the two

The retrieval effectiveness of Keywork-In-Context (KWIC) indexing is sought using a simple search simulation which constrains the user to approach a KWIC index with subject keywords and references dictated by a conventional index. A comparison of several KWIC index studies, using various methodologies, shows retrievability ratios of 35 percent -…

Discussion of models for indexing and searching information resources on the Internet focuses on the results of a simple query on a number of existing search systems and on two proposed index metadata structures for indexing and supporting search and discovery: the Dublin Core Elements List and the Semantic Header. (52 references) (Author/LRW)

Describes the development of an information retrieval system designed for nonspecialist users that is based on the binary vector model. The syntactic structure of phrases used for indexing is examined, queries using an experimental collection of documents are described, and precision values are examined. (19 references) (LRW)

Reviews the TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) program, considering the test results, the findings for information retrieval, and the lessons TREC offers for information retrieval evaluation. Topics include the ad hoc retrieval task; indexing models; document and query descriptions; search strategies; and the user's request as the dominant factor in…

Proposes a model of the search term selection process based on an empirical study of professional searchers during the pre-online search stage; the model characterizes the selection of search terms as the navigation of different discourses. Six discourses emerged as sources of search terms: controlled vocabularies; documents and the domain; the…

Discussion of the use of Latent Semantic Indexing to determine relevancy in information retrieval focuses on statistical regression and Bayesian methods. Topics include keyword searching; a multiple regression model; how the regression model can aid search methods; and limitations of this approach, including complexity, linearity, and…

Relative effectiveness of indexing using full-text or less than full-text was tested using non-Boolean, chaining type of file structure and searching method. Indexing was done using titles, abstracts, full-text, references, and various combinations; Goffman's indirect method of information retrieval was used to structure and search file.…

Proposes a model that assists in understanding indexing on the World Wide Web and presents an experiment assessing the validity of Inverse Document Frequency (IDF) as a term weighting strategy for Web documents. Findings indicate that IDF scores are not stable in the heterogeneous and dynamic context of the Web. (Author/AEF)

Discusses the need for a new model for subject access to government information in academic libraries as a result of the growing influence of supranational organizations. Highlights include the World Trade Organization (WT); ruling under transnational economic agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); private sector…

Provides an overview of the problems with information retrieval in psychology, based on the examination of the search strategy used for a dissertation. The discussion illustrates the usefulness of a facet model for formulating search strategies for psychology literature reviews, using the same dissertation as an example. (15 references) (CLB)