This paper compares strengths and weaknesses of the Lexis and Westlaw computer assisted legal research systems. Their powerful full text document delivery capabilities are contrasted with their inherent limitations as information retrieval systems. The objective here is to alert users to the complexities of online legal searching and the necessity…

This thesaurus, developed by the National Information Center for Educational Media (NICEM), represents an expansion of the NICEM subject headings list, which is designed to provide access to a database of bibliographical records of nonprint, educational media. A preface discusses the issues that led to a revamping of the subject headings,…

This introductory guide to Census Bureau data that is currently available to microcomputer users on compact disc (CD-ROM) begins by explaining the types of information available, how CD-ROM works, and the hardware and software required to access the databases using a microcomputer. Descriptions of data currently available on CD-ROM include…

Comprehensive rules, guidelines, and examples are provided for use by ERIC indexers and lexicographers in developing and maintaining the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors." Evaluation and decision criteria, research procedures, and inputting details for adding new Descriptors are documented. Instructions for modifying existing Thesaurus…

This guide is intended as an introduction to published government information on the issue of terrorism. The selections are meant to indicate the range of the abundance of materials available and the variety of government agencies concerned with the topic. Devoted to the general topic of government information, the initial sections of the guide…

Presented in this article is a synthesis of the strategy and process used to maximize the reliability of findings about desegregation, and to exhaust all probable resources germane to such research. The paradigm used focuses on a three-phase research strategy encompassing literature review (Phase I); an ERIC search of "Current Index to Journals in…

The availability of online bibliographic databases greatly facilitates literature searching in political science. The advantages to searching databases online include combination of concepts, comprehensiveness, multiple database searching, free-text searching, currency, current awareness services, document delivery service, and convenience.…

This report presents an evaluation of the usefulness of videotex for technical information services which is based on studies of a number of videotex systems operating in several countries, and a description of the structure and content of a database which has been introduced into the Finnish videotex system, Telset, by the Technical Information…

Describes the structure of a college course in which students receive instruction in the use of information sources and compile a bibliography on a specific biological topic as their major practical work. (LS)

Describes current biomedical information networks, focusing on those with an educational function, and elaborates on the problems encountered in planning, implementing, utilizing and evaluating such networks. Journal of Biocommunication, T. Banks, Educ. TV-431N, U. of Calif., San Francisco 94143. Subscription Rates: individuals and libraries,…

NASA interviewed users of its scientific and technical information system in order to assess the usefulness of the present system and to find ways to make it more effective. Emphasis was on announcement and current awareness services, the publication program, and the interactive retrieval system. (Author/LS)

Reports on one school's attempts to encourage utilization of scientific knowledge through experimentation with (1) a computer-based retrieval system, (2) a specialized library of information tools, and (3) an educational program that stresses the importance of having the best knowledge as a guide, and provides training in obtaining it. (Editor/PG)

Gallaudet College's special collection on deafness, and efforts to transform the college library into a functional, user-oriented information center are described. (Author/PF)

Reviews the state of the art in automatic indexing, concentrating on the literature from 1968 to 1973. (Author/PF)

The concept of hypertext was introduced by Ted Nelson in 1965, but only recently has the widely available technology caught up with the idea. The new generation of microcomputers featuring large internal memories, graphic interfaces, and large data storage capacities have made the commercial development of hypertext/hypermedia software possible. A…