Describes an information retrieval methodology based on relevance weighting of search terms in pairs of documents. The vector space model of information retrieval is reviewed, the Bayesian model of text retrieval is discussed, and an automatic implementation of weight estimation using the Medline database is described. (16 references) (LRW)

Presents a logical analysis of the characteristics of indexing and their effects on retrieval. The foundational questions of performance evaluation and the basic quantitative performance measures for binary noninteractive retrieval systems are established. The effects of indexing devices, indexing exhaustivity, specificity, correctness, and…

Explores the theory of psychological relevance and its relationship to information retrieval, and provides an extended example. Topics discussed include information need, the search process, the nature of information, topical relevance, relevance judgments and retrieval testing, information retrieval and bibliometrics, and suggestions for further…

Discussion of the role of Boolean logic in the information retrieval process focuses on a study that investigated the optimization of search logic for the MEDLINE database. Measures of retrieval effectiveness are discussed, the relationship of weighting schema and the logical schema is considered, and further investigations are suggested. (17…

Compares two methods of information retrieval--one that rates documents according to a query and another that uses relevant documents to find further relevant documents (i.e., neighboring documents). Highlights include experiments at the National Library of Medicine; feedback; vector cosine retrieval; and a measure of retrieval effectiveness…

Explores similarities or dissimilarities between citation-semantic and analytic indexing based on a study of records in the Science Citation Index and MEDLINE databases on antibiotic resistance in pneumonia. Concludes that disparate indexing terms may be an advantage for better recall and precision in information retrieval. (Contains 42…

Content-based image retrieval is based on the idea of extracting visual features from images and using them to index images in a database. Proposes similarity measures and an indexing algorithm based on information theory that permits an image to be represented as a single number. When used in conjunction with vectors, this method displays…

Describes the design of an information retrieval system that permits the personalization of a search by developing a user profile in order to reduce noise and increase the number of relevant items retrieved. The preorientation system is explained and an example using full-text natural language processing tools is presented. (Author/LRW)

Discusses methods to be used in an adaptive filtering task, in which incoming documents are routed to users according to stored profiles. Highlights include decision thresholds to help in the retrieval decision; probability of relevance; calibration and logistic regression; feedback; and examples in the Okapi text retrieval system. (LRW)

Investigates the combination of terms and document weighting functions in information retrieval. Describes weighting functions based on how information is used within documents and collections and uses them in two types of experiments: one based on combination of evidence for ad hoc retrieval, and one within a relevance feedback situation.…

In the modern world, higher education is transitioning from enrollment mode to recruitment mode. This shift paved the way for institutional research and policy making from historical data perspective. More and more universities in the U.S. are implementing and using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, which collect vast amounts of data.…

Businesses and higher education leaders are looking for students with the ability to evaluate and analyze information and to use this information to solve real-world problems. These are the information literacy skills students need for the 21st century. However, several recent studies on the ability of college freshmen to handle the rigor of…

Discussion of access methods and information retrieval algorithms focuses on the vertical counting approach. Determines the speedup gained from using the Hamming Distance Bit Vertical counter, evaluates the parameters that influence the speedup, and discusses the point that makes the vertical approach faster than the horizontal approach.…

Proposes a method to improve the performance of information retrieval systems by expanding queries using heterogeneous thesauri. Experiments show that using heterogeneous thesauri with an appropriate weighting method results in better retrieval performance than using only one type of thesaurus. (Author/LRW)

Discusses compression of databases that reduces space requirements and retrieval times; considers compression of documents in text databases based on semistatic modeling with words; and proposes a scheme for general purpose compression that can be applied to all types of data stored in large collections. (Author/LRW)