Proposes an effective term suggestion approach to interactive Web searches. Explains a log-based approach to relevant term extraction and term suggestion where relevant terms suggested for a user query are those that co-occur in similar query sessions from search engine logs rather than in the retrieved documents. (Author/LRW)

This study used semantic relations expressed in text, particularly cause-effect relations, to improve information retrieval effectiveness. Investigated whether information obtained by matching cause-effect relations expressed in documents with the cause-effect relations expressed in users' queries can be used to improve retrieval results, in…

Discussion of query processing focuses on techniques developed by LEXIS-NEXIS for identifying key concepts, selecting synonyms and related terms, and detecting phrases that can be combined to increase recall and precision. Describes experiments in the ad hoc track of the sixth TREC (Text Retrieval Conference), including the use of ranking…

Compound words cause some difficulty in post-coordinate indexing systems: if too many are fractured, or the wrong categories are selected for fracturing noise will be produced at unacceptable levels on retrieval. (Author/MM)

Presents five user experiments on incorporating behavioral information into the relevance feedback process in information retrieval, concentrating on ranking terms for query expansion and selecting new terms to add to the user's query. Topics include term ranking and user behavior; incorporating user behavior into term ranking; and user behavior…

Presents a new stemming algorithm based on tree structures that improves relevance in information retrieval by conflation, grouping similar words into a single term. Highlights include the normalization process used in automatic thesaurus construction; theoretical aspects; the normalization algorithm; and experiments with English and Spanish. (LRW)

Describes the concept of maximum indexing, a system aimed at achieving maximum recall and maximum precision in computerized information retrieval. The indexing strategies used to achieve maximum indexing and the problems that arise are discussed. (9 references) (CLB)

The results of an experiment simulating a library catalog search indicated that a relation exists between the lexical content load of the text, used to define the search topic, and the number of query terms generated by a group of experimental subjects (college students). (21 references) (Author)

Presents a method for using the amount of semantic information in search-query terms as a weighting factor in constructing a fuzzy relation of resemblance between retrieved items in information retrieval online. Two tables, two figures, and a reference list accompany the text. (Author/JL)

Proposes a theoretical framework called NLPIR that integrates natural language processing (NLP) into information retrieval (IR) based on the assumption that there exists representation distance between queries and documents. Discusses problems in traditional keyword-based IR, including relevance, and describes some existing NLP techniques.…

Reports on an experiment that examined whether thesaurus terms, related to query in a specified semantic way (synonyms, narrower terms, related terms, or broader terms) could be identified as having a more positive impact on retrieval effectiveness when added to a query through automatic query expansion. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/LRW)

The performance of a selective dissemination of information service based on computer scanning of Nuclear Science Abstracts tapes was compared with a current awareness service based on visual scanning of journals and reports by information specialists. (6 references) (Author/SJ)

The substitution information contained in automatically obtained keyword classification is most effectively exploited when: (1) strong similarity connectives only are utilized, (2) grouping is confined to non-frequent terms, (3) term groups are used to provide additional and not alternative descriptive items and (4) descriptor collection frequency…

Discussion of the process of library cataloging notes the 8th century cataloger, Alcuin; purpose of cataloging; bibliographic control; access to information; cataloging on OCLC; emphasis on the format in which cataloging information is communicated; lost precision; authority files; and recall versus precision. Seven references are included. (EJS)

Discusses the problem of how to permit a patron to represent the relative importance of various index terms in a Boolean request while retaining the desirable properties of a Boolean system. (FM)