Describes MARS (Museum Archive Retrieval System), a research tool which enables organizations to exchange digital images and documents by means of a common thesaurus structure, and merge the descriptive data and metadata of their collections. Highlights include theoretical basis; searching the MARS database; and examples in European museums.…

Discusses the problems associated with using connect time as the basis of user fees for searching numeric online databases, and proposes a methodology for user charge estimation based on query formulation and results. (87 references) (CLB)

Discusses evidence-based medicine (EBM) and the need for systematic use of databases like MEDLINE with more sophisticated search strategies to optimize the retrieval of relevant papers. Describes an empirical study of hospital libraries that examined requests for information and search strategies using both structured and unstructured forms.…

Provides an overview of the development and use of numeric databases, and of the evolution of user charging methods for all online information retrieval systems. The need to provide database users with advance estimates of charges is discussed, and a methodology for charge estimation is presented. (87 references) (CLB)

Describes a method for measuring research information from thematic references such as headings and subheadings that are used in indexing, cataloging, and online searching, using the Rasch model as the measuring instrument. Discusses results of a search of anesthesiology in the Medline database that was used as a case study. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study that explored aspects of successive Dialog searches conducted by intermediaries for information seekers. Results show most successive searches involve some change in search terms and databases, but precision did not necessarily increase and the percentage of relevant items decreased significantly after three searches. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of user interfaces to information retrieval systems focuses on interfaces that incorporate thesauri as part of their searching and browsing facilities. Discusses research literature related to information searching behavior, information retrieval interface evaluation, search term selection, and query expansion; and compares thesaurus…

Explores the use of metaphors as problem-solving mechanisms by novice searchers of bibliographic databases. Subjects were 28 undergraduate students at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, who "talked through" a search on a bibliographic retrieval system. A range of metaphors was apparent from the language used by students.…

Describes a study of undergraduates that was conducted to determine how they searched databases, the effectiveness of their searches, and their satisfaction with them. The students' cognitive and learning styles were determined by the Lancaster Approaches to Studying Inventory and Riding's Cognitive Styles Analysis tests. (Author/LRW)