Examines, in two studies, the cognitive processes involved in locating specific information in a document, such as a table or directory. Concludes that efficient search is a matter of selective inspection to retrieve information relevant to specific goals. (SR)

Discusses term position as a search tactic in Boolean retrieval systems and describes ranked output systems that have used term weighting. The use of term proximity devices in ranked output systems is proposed, the algorithms used are explained, and a search experiment with a test collection is described. (19 references) (LRW)

Discusses ways in which using mathematical symbols to search online bibliographic databases in scientific and technical areas can improve search results. The representations used for Greek letters, relations, binary operators, arrows, and miscellaneous special symbols in the MathSci, Inspec, Compendex, and Chemical Abstracts databases are…

These two articles introduce a new model of probablistic information retrieval (PIR) that is based on the statistical technique of the combination of expert opinion (CEO), which in this model is the opinions of indexers and users. Part 1 presents the conceptual basis, while Part 2 explains the mathematical details. (73 references) (LRW)

Reviews selected research on content-enriched access (including information components such as tables of contents and indexes) in information retrieval systems. It is concluded that well-selected content components and full-text materials in electronic systems must be linked with improved search methodologies, better interfaces, and greater…

Reviews the steps taken toward UBC (universal bibliographic control) in the past 20 years and critiques some of the shortfalls in the UNESCO/IFLA (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization/International Federation of Library Associations) program. Advances such as electronic publishing are put in context to suggest an…

This article presents an extended version of the convolution-correlation memory model TODAM (theory of distributed associative memory) that eliminates some inadequacies of previous versions and provides a unified treatment of item, associative, and serial-order information. TODAM2 extends the chunking model to provide a general model for episodic…

Reviews research on data mining (DM) and knowledge discovery (KD). Discusses popular conceptions of information growth, the knowledge acquisition process, major elements of the DM process, and evaluation methods. Research on DM and KD is divided into two categories: analysis of numerical databases and analysis of non-numerical or textual…

Introduces a new generalization of inner product measures which removes the aesthetic deficiencies in previous research. Discusses linear similarity measures; proves the existence theorem for acceptable ranking functions in the case of a linear measure; and defines asymptotic inner product measures. (AEF)

Lists and describes the 10 best sources for answering statistical questions that are available for free or at a low cost on the World Wide Web. Statistics search tips, government publishers, almanacs, and newspapers are discussed. (LRW)

Evaluates the effectiveness of using the HTML META tag to improve retrieval of World Wide Web documents through Internet search engines. Analysis of sample searches suggests that the use of the keywords attribute in a META tag substantially improves accessibility whereas use of the description attribute alone does not. (Author/LRW)

Describes an information-retrieval schema that takes into account linguistic variation based on phrases. Introduces the phrase-retrieval hypothesis to replace the keyword-retrieval hypothesis, and discusses natural-language processing systems; syntactical, morphological, and lexico-semantical normalization; and future work. (Author/LRW)

Defines a metasearch tool as one that simultaneously searches multiple search engines or directories and gives the end user a single integrated set of results. Focuses on end-user searching at public-access terminals and compares and evaluates 16 metasearch tools currently available on the World Wide Web. (LRW)

Discusses the adoption of the pinyin Romanization standard over Wade-Giles and considers the impact on retrieval in online library catalogs. Describes an investigation that tested three factors that could influence retrieval efficiency: the number of usable syllables, the average number of letters per syllable, and users' familiarity with the…

Discusses the increase in the quantity and diversity of information available for searching via the Internet and provides a logic-based framework for information discovery that is related to the traditional field of information retrieval. Considers information routing, infomantics, information carriers, information filters, and users' information…