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…

Describes resources for researchers called the Invisible Web that are hidden from the usual search engines and other tools and contrasts them with those resources available on the surface Web. Identifies specialized search tools, databases, and strategies that can be used to locate credible in-depth information. (Author/LRW)

Examines early and current approaches to automatic thesaurus construction and describes an approach to automatic generation of global thesauri based on the term discrimination value model and on an appropriate clustering algorithm. Preliminary results of implementation of the method are reported. (46 references) (Author/MES)

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)

Argues that most currently used information retrieval models are unsuitable to describe recent techniques such as semantic based retrieval. A more general model is presented in which the basis for information retrieval is viewed as logical implication and the estimation of the correspondence between queries and documents is described in terms of…

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…

Presents a model of information retrieval based on plausible inference which suggests that techniques should be found for combining multiple search strategies into an overall assessment of a document's relevance. The results of experiments designed to test this approach using a simple spreading activation search are discussed. (21 references) (CLB)

FINDIT Version 2.20--a database-retrieval software application to assist researchers/users in locating references in the "Journal of Educational Measurement" and "Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice" from 1975 to 1988--is reviewed. The system includes a cumulative index of citations and search/retrieval software.…

Describes a conceptual model for bibliographic data called Maestro (Management Environment for Structured Text Retrieval and Organization) that is being developed both to support structured documents in databases, and to provide a query language to link information contained in these structures. Traditional text retrieval systems are discussed,…

Describes the development of a structural model of document retrieval based on lexical-semantic relationships between index terms. An algorithm that uses tree-to-tree distance to measure structural closeness between a document and a query statement is explained, and the proposed model is compared to a vector retrieval model. (18 references) (LRW)

Describes the development and functions of a text retrieval program that makes extensive use of the best match model of document retrieval rather than the Boolean model. The use of the program in teaching and research at the University of Sheffield is summarized. (24 references) (CLB)

Reviews models currently used to describe the retrieval process and questions whether extensions of traditional approaches can provide mechanisms for expert retrieval systems. An alternative view in which retrieval is based on concept space is presented. A logic framework is used to define a semantic model for using knowledge contained in concept…

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)

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)…