The cataloging of otherwise unprocessed collections is an innovative minimal processing technique with important implications for reference service. This article mines the existing literature for how institutions engaged in minimal processing view reference, the strengths and weaknesses of catalog records as finding aids, and information about…

This paper in the form of story discusses a college student's information search process. In this story we see Kuhlthau's information search process: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection, and presentation. Katie is a student who goes in search of information for her class research paper. Katie's class readings, her interest…

As individuals become more and more comfortable mediating all kinds of situations online and through various technologies, their virtual selves increasingly overlap their "real" lives. Posting a "happy birthday!" message on Facebook is as automatic as dropping a card in the mail. E-mailing relevant links to co-workers happens as naturally as…

Compares results of traditional Boolean searching with those of Freestyle, LEXIS/NEXIS's natural language application. Study found that though the Boolean searches had better results more often, neither method demonstrated superior performance for every query, suggesting that different queries demand different techniques. Concludes that further…

Explores the effects on relevance concerns in traditional online search strategies caused by ranking retrieved documents. Two extreme examples are presented to illustrate the impact of ranking; advantages and limitations of ranking are discussed. (SW)

A comparative evaluation of two computerized reference retrieval systems, INSTRUCT (a statistically-based system) and PLEXUS (a knowledge-based system) examined their retrieval effectiveness for a set of 19 queries and 512 documents on gardening. Best results were obtained by using terms suggested by PLEXUS as the basis for an INSTRUCT search. (36…

Examines online and printed equivalents of selected government documents indexes to compare the recall, precision, overlap, and cost effectiveness of online and manual searching. Indexes studied were the Monthly Catalog, CIS (Congressional Information Service) Index, and Government Reports Announcements and Index. (CLB)

This report investigates seven document representations--configurations of controlled and free-text vocabulary--which can be used to search the INSPEC (Computer and Control Abstracts) and PsychInfo (Psychological Abstracts) databases. The performance of each representation is analyzed, as is overlap among the representations, i.e., the extent to…

Describes the building block, successive fractions, citation pearl growing, and interactive scanning approaches to search strategy formulation and discusses practical techniques for online bibliographic searches such as being flexible, searching the most specific aspect first, using thesauri, conceptualizing, using full text operators, and…

Seventeen idea tactics to aid information specialists in furthering a reference search are defined as parts of total search strategies, and are grouped into idea generation and pattern breaking modes. Problems in testing such tactics are discussed. (FM)

Rectangular Venn diagramming for planning searches and for use as worksheets that can be revised during on-line searching is described. (Author)

A series of five runs comprised of 20 searches each were carried out in a three-year span of the INSPEC data base. The same queries were processed manually in the corresponding volumes of Science Abstracts, and comparison of the output of each search method exposed reasons for the failures. Emphasis is laid on the fact that a query comprises other…

A reference guide for online bibliographic searchers introduces and explains the major computer-searchable fields of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database, presents field access labels or commands of three online ERIC database vendors--BRS, DIALOG, and ORBIT--and lists the codes necessary for searching particular ERIC…

Considers a definition of online searching and discusses each of these factors--training, search aids, physical setting, search request form, interview and profile construction, terminal session, search evaluation, document delivery, professional reading, and online user groups. Eighteen sources are cited. (EJS)

Identifies the advantages and limitations of online search services offered by libraries, cautioning the searcher and user to consider and evaluate all options before performing online search. The librarian's responsibility to solve the user's information problem in a desirable way is discussed. Five references are listed. (EJS)