Describes a study conducted at the University of South Carolina that examined the frequency of occurrence of several types of errors in a sample of natural language queries submitted by users requesting online searches in information retrieval systems. Implications for system design are suggested, including parsing systems. (28 references) (LRW)

This introduction to a special issue devoted to modeling data, information, and knowledge briefly describes the origins of the papers presented and the topics covered, which include: Boolean logic; probability theory; artificial intelligence; organizing and encoding information and data; and characteristics of users of retrieval systems. (12…

Reviews the sense-making theory of Brenda Dervin, which is based on constructivist theories of information seeking and information use. Topics discussed include epistemic interests of the theory; sense-making theory in the social science context; and practical interests of the theory, including interviewing techniques used in the…

Describes interorganizational information systems and the necessity for cooperation. Topics discussed include managerial considerations, including objectives, benefits, and resources; considerations in systems development, including telecommunications skills; considerations for users of information systems, including user needs; and considerations…

Explains a new methodology for thesaurus design that is specifically geared for use by novice end-users, and describes a faceted hierarchical thesaurus organization which provides an economical information retrieval system in a corporate setting. (Author/LRW)

Describes an information system interface that allows specification of uncertain queries and combines evidence about the relevance of documents to produce an overall ranking. Results of an experiment that addressed some of the cognitive aspects of such an interface are also reported. (22 references) (Author/MES)

Discussion of the interpretation of user queries in information retrieval highlights theoretical models that utilize user characteristics maintained in the form of a user profile. Various query/profile interaction models are identified, and an experiment is described that tested the relevance of retrieved documents based on various models. (29…

Discussion of relevance and the needs of the users in information retrieval focuses on a deductive object-oriented approach and suggests eight inference rules for the deduction. Highlights include characteristics of a deductive object-oriented system, database and data modeling language, implementation, and user interface. (Contains 24…

Discusses the feasibility and advantages of developing an enhancement for document retrieval systems that would automatically impose Boolean syntax on an input set of search terms. An online specification for such an enhancement is presented, based on experimental results using the MEDLINE database. (13 references) (CLB)

Describes a method based on Bayesian networks for searching hypertext systems. Discussion covers the use of Bayesian networks for structuring index terms and representing user information needs; use of link semantics based on constrained spreading activation to find starting points for browsing; and evaluation of a prototype system. (64…

Shows how to automatically construct a classification of users and a clustering of documents and cross-references among clusters based on users' information needs. Feedback in the construction of this classification and clustering that allows for the classification to be changed to reflect changing needs of users is also described. (22 references)…

Reviews previous investigations of how best to determine whether a user should continue to display output from an online retrieval system, and presents a model for providing the user with the estimated number of relevant records remaining in a retrieved set ranked by a retrieval status value. (40 references) (Author/CLB)

Develops an approach for advance estimation of user charges based on information actually retrieved by searching numeric databases, and defines a method for query cardinality estimation. Based on the relational data model, which uses relational algebra, this method uses formal file descriptions to describe the database files. (LRW)

Describes a simplified process that can be used by computer departments in businesses to measure fulfillment of user requirements, with emphasis on practical interpretation and usefulness of results. The methodology is based on a set of minimum criteria determined by the organizational environment. An example using a spreadsheet implementation is…

Discusses the problems inherent in applying what is learned in a carefully controlled information retrieval (IR) research project to searching the scientific databases available through a large commercial database. STN International is used as an example. (five references) (LAE)