Describes the organization of the descriptors used in the ERIC database to indicate age, educational, and student levels, and suggests appropriate search strategies for the retrieval of information on specific age groups. (CLB)

Discusses shortcomings of a computer program previously described (Electronic Library, April 1985) to create Keyword Out of Context (KWOC) indexes. Program modifications are described which allow indexers to edit terms as the index is being compiled so term consistency is achieved and language conventions are observed. Examples are presented. (MBR)

This sixth and final course installment discusses subject access to information through the online catalog. Highlights include online catalog transaction logs (printouts showing each step in all searches done in system), search effectiveness, online user training, unified access, Library of Congress Subject Headings, and online catalog design.…

Discusses origin, scope, objectives, term relationships, updating, and future of "Thesaurus of Common Topics," an interdisciplinary thesaurus being developed by the Polish Centre for Scientific, Technical, and Economic Information as a main source of terms for branch thesauri development for the Polish national System of Scientific,…

This comparison of bibliographies/online databases regarding their classification schemes, periodicals list, coverage of articles, indexing, and overlap reveals that only five bibliographies cover whole of subject area, and differences exist between number of periodicals scanned (73 to 2,771) and percentage of articles included from six…

In this fourth of five course installments, statements by four practitioners and researchers on role of Library of Congress (LC) and its subject headings in improving subject access to United States libraries are presented. Comments from LC and a tabulation of suggestions from 10 respondents are included. (EJS)

Presents principles for determining profile of a system user based on analysis of co-occurrence of index terms in queries and pertinent documents. A procedure for determining index term weights, the information value of which depends on the degree of homogeneity of system users, is introduced. Three references are cited. (EJS)

Following a discussion of derivative versus assignment indexing, use of roles, and concept behind Preserved Concept Indexing System, features of PERMDEX (microcomputer program to assist in creation of permuted printed index) are described including indexer input and prompts, the shunting algorithm, and sorting and printing routines. Fourteen…

Statistical clustering is critical in designing scalable image retrieval systems. This paper presents a scalable algorithm for indexing and retrieving images based on region segmentation. The method uses statistical clustering on region features and IRM (Integrated Region Matching), a measure developed to evaluate overall similarity between images…

The Quaker Resources Online Index is a World Wide Web-based index, including author, title, subject, and meeting indexes, that provides access to Quaker materials available on the Web. Given the current failings and shortcomings of search engines and automated key word searches, this index brings together information from a variety of sources and…

The retrieval effectiveness of Keywork-In-Context (KWIC) indexing is sought using a simple search simulation which constrains the user to approach a KWIC index with subject keywords and references dictated by a conventional index. A comparison of several KWIC index studies, using various methodologies, shows retrievability ratios of 35 percent -…

The preparation of the subject index for a scientific bibliography is described in detail. (Author)

The major topics included in this paper are: thesaurus structure, later developments, functions of thesauri, keyword list generation, compatibility, and maintenance and updating. (NH)

Stylistic analysis or attribution study is a very different kind of indexing. Instead of indexing subjects, it measures such things as the frequencies of common words such as and" and the". These studies reveal a great deal about consistency, methodology, and the approaches used for documents in the humanities. (41 references) (Author/NH)

Word frequency books are compiled on the basis of common usage and aid language users to know which terms best communicate an idea. (Author)