Prepared as a self-instructional tool for anyone interested in indexing documents from their titles using the NEsted PHrase Indexing System (NEPHIS), this manual introduces, defines, and provides guidelines for the use of this computer-assisted indexing system. The objectives of the system are outlined, the NEPHIS computer program and input…

An intermediate lexicon is described that employs a technique which allows, for a given subject area, the automatic translation of subject indexing from one indexing scheme into another. The lexicon was structured according to the principles of faceted classification and contained approximately 1,000 entries covering the field of library and…

The four chapters included in this report are based on LINCS project activities undertaken since 1968, with an emphasis on indexing tools in the language sciences and related problems. Chapter one, "Indexing Tools for the Language Sciences: Methodology," discusses the development of a LINCS thesaurus and its role in the LINCS network.…

Proposed is a measure of indexing consistency based on the concept of "fuzzy sets." By this procedure a higher consistency value is assigned if indexers agree on the more important terms than if they agree on less important terms. Measures of the quality of an indexer's work and exhaustivity of indexing are also proposed. Experimental data on…

The report is the result of a study of the language of information science based on the terminology contained in a collected set of lexical resources. The terms employed were taken from vocabularies having a substantial degree of overlap. All terms were then analyzed to build a composite vocabulary of terms and concepts using a set of twenty-five…

The index term input to three information retrieval systems has been analyzed in detail in order to form the input to a completely computerized simulation of an information retrieval system. The paper reports that, with certain reservations, index terms conform in general with the Bradford distribution. (Author)

This paper recounts the use of the information science techniques of subject indexing and annotation in the extensive writings and publications of the philosopher Mortimer J. Adler. A content analysis of Adler's "intellectual autobiography" is described, Adler's efforts as an indexer are reviewed, and some of Adler's thoughts on the…

Examines the structure of medical informatics and the relationship between biomedicine and information science and information technology. Uses co-occurrence analysis of subject headings assigned to items indexed for MEDLINE as well as multidimensional scaling to show seven to eight broad multidisciplinary subject clusters. (Contains 28…

This thesaurus covers the fields of information science and librarianship to a depth that will adequately support indexing, with coverage of related and peripheral fields as warranted by the strength of their relationship to information science and librarianship. Among the related fields are computer science, linguistics, and behavioral and…

Intended to facilitate the preparation of thesauri for the indexing of documents in any subject field, this report presents a set of rules pertaining to the complex issues and questions involved in indexing vocabulary development and construction. After a brief discussion of the nature, functions, and components of indexing vocabularies, a set of…

Presents a method for measuring the quality of controlled vocabularies that involves identifying clusters of documents, searching for each document, identifying terms used to index each document, and calculating certain measures to determine indexing quality. The results of a comparison of three library and information science databases using this…

Argues that indexing and classification schemes rely on an understanding of "subject" and discusses several different conceptions of subject as epistemological positions. It is further argued that a theory of subject must be based in a theory of knowledge, and a theory based on a realistic/materialistic epistemology is proposed. (39…

A listing of terms relative to exceptional child education is provided with selective definitions, similar term groupings, and usage notes. All terms are described as approved descriptors of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Thesaurus with particular need to the ERIC Clearinghouse on Exceptional Children. (RD)

The emphasis of this text is that the problems of information retrieval are the intellectual ones of subject analysis and description. These problems are not easily solved by technology alone, although certain inroads are being made by knowledge-based expert systems and other computer aids to indexing. Linguistic approaches are also showing…

Explains some major problems related to the subject indexing process and proposes semiotics as a framework for understanding the interpretive nature of the process. Explores the approach to studies of indexing and library and information science suggested by Fairthorne, Blair, Benediktsson, and others. Offers an explanation of what occurs in the…