Describes the growth of the INSPEC database developed by the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Highlights include an historical background of its growth from "Science Abstracts"; production methods, including computerization; indexing, including controlled (thesaurus-based), uncontrolled, chemical, and numerical indexing; and the…

Discusses recommendation, or preference ordering, in document retrieval systems that ranks documents in order of the likelihood with which they match the preferences of any person searching the system. Describes the ERIn (Evaluation-Recommendation-Information) model, a decision-theoretic framework for understanding information-related activity…

Describes a research project that studied the indexing of moving image collections for storage and retrieval. Highlights include techniques and tools used for representing the content of moving image collections that are indexed shot by shot; indexing languages used, including keywords, classification; thesauri, and subject headings; and lexical…

After reviewing the literature on automatic indexing research an experiment is described which examined term distribution and the effectiveness of the Two Poisson and Three Poisson Models in identifying good index terms. The conclusion reached is that these models should be applied with caution in document retrieval. (25 references) (EAM)

The second objective of the catalog is to show which editions are in a library. Two interpretations of this statement are contrasted: that of Akos Domanovszky, which represents current standard practice, and an alternative, which calls for extensive analysis of serials and collections, and explicit identification of publications with identical…

Discusses ambiguities in the terminology used for information retrieval in counseling and related fields, including disagreements over which terms to use, meanings of terms, and relationships between terms. The nature, causes, and consequences of these problems are considered and some solutions are offered, with special reference to the…

Discusses the need to retrieve ideas in addition to content retrieval by such means as classification, subject headings, and keywords. Three models for idea retrieval are described, and a new model is proposed which combines selection, a controlled vocabulary, and logical structure. (seven references) (CLB)

Explains seven types of subject descriptions commonly used in databases--hierarchical classification, category codes, subject headings, descriptors, faceted classification, post-controlled vocabulary, and natural language--and describes specific search techniques for taking advantage of the strengths of particular types of vocabularies. An overall…

Review of the 1987 subject access literature covers: (1) general works; (2) organization, history, theory, and method of classification; (3) classification systems; (4) subject headings and the Library of Congress; (5) subject authority control through the Library of Congress Subject Headings; (6) subject searching in online catalogs; and (7)…

Discussion of the failure of individual keywords to identify conceptual content of documents in retrieval systems highlights Metric Similarity Modeling, a method for creating vector space representation of documents based on modeling target interdocument similarity values. Semantic relatedness, latent semantic indexing, an indexing and retrieval…

Describes an attempt at the University at Albany, State University of New York, to compile a bibliography of government documents on homelessness published before 1960. Indexing problems are discussed; use of Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) is considered; further research is suggested; and the bibliography of 80 documents is appended.…

Examines the retrieval effectiveness of five hierarchical clustering methods (single link, complete link, group average, Ward's method, and weighted average) as a function of indexing exhaustivity with four test collections. Evaluations of retrieval effectiveness are based on three measures of optimal retrieval performance. (Author/LRW)

Traces the development of "The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms" from its roots as a term list through six editions to a sophisticated searching and indexing tool, and describes the process for determining controlled vocabulary and forms of display. Features designed especially to assist novice users and nonpsychologists are also…

Discusses how to make better indexes for online documentation. (SR)

Provides an overview of indexing in database management systems to provide librarians with more understanding of the possibilities and limitations of current information systems. Sequential, direct, indexed sequential, and virtual sequential file accessing methods are explained, and various binary tree structures are described. (EAM)