Assesses the impact of prior knowledge on locating information in textbooks. Finds that search efficiency varied with the state of prior knowledge. Finds no group differences in search in a textbook for which there were no systematic group differences in prior knowledge. (RS)

Reviews methods of text segmentation for Chinese text retrieval systems, including single character-based approaches and multicharacter-based approaches; discusses problems of Chinese text segmentation, including morphological complexities, ambiguity of segmentation, and natural language parsing problems; and suggests further research. (Contains…

Provides excerpts from interviews with expert online searchers to be published in a book entitled "Secrets of the Super Searchers" in the fall of 1993. Planning search strategies is the focus; and topics addressed include methods of planning searches, broad versus narrow searches, and building with component parts. (EAM)

Discusses the integration of scientific texts through the connection of documents and describes a computer model that can connect short documents. Information retrieval and artificial intelligence are discussed; a prototype system of the model is explained; and the model is compared to other computer models. (17 references) (LRW)

Compares two models used for text storage and retrieval systems, the text model and the relational model. Characteristics of documents and document collections are discussed, trends in document processing are described, and future directions of document management systems are suggested. (20 references) (LRW)

Describes the theoretical framework of a retrieval system that uses data structures called bitmaps to improve search algorithms for medium-sized systems. Information retrieval systems that contain the full text of the documents are discussed, and the use of inverted files such as concordances for small texts is explained. (24 references) (LRW)

This issue contains nine articles that provide an overview of trends and research in parallel information retrieval. Topics discussed include network design for text searching; the Connection Machine System; PThomas, an adaptive information retrieval system on the Connection Machine; algorithms for document clustering; and system architecture for…

Shows how deductive data management techniques can be applied to the utilization of data value classifications in information retrieval. A representation of classifications which supports transitive computation is defined, and an operation-oriented deductive query language tailored for classification-based deductive information retrieval in fact…

Describes fast, dynamic update algorithms for document retrieval systems. B-trees are discussed; the M-B-T file directory structure is explained; insertions and deletions in inverted files are described; and performance evaluation is discussed. An appendix provides the formal definition of an M-B-T directory. (Contains 18 references.) (LRW)

Discusses efforts at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to construct an information discovery tool through the fusion of hypertext and information retrieval that works by parsing a contiguous document base into smaller documents and inserting semantic links between them. Also presents a case study that evaluated user reactions.…

Presents a mechanism for organizing and manipulating groups of nodes and links in large World Wide Web sites. Topics include the Web as a hypertext system, information-retrieval problems, a model for organizing Web sites based on perspectives, a prototype system, versioning, configuration management, parallel activities, and future plans.…

Discusses search engines used on the World Wide Web and explains Web-searching principles. Topics include statistics and probability, relevance, weighted terms, precision and recall, monitoring and filtering software, push technology, Boolean operators, metasearch engines, and special features of six main search engines. (LRW)

Examines query-oriented versus document-oriented information retrieval and feedback learning. Highlights include a reunification of the two approaches for probabilistic document retrieval and for vector space model (VSM) retrieval; learning in VSM and in probabilistic models; multi-dimensional scaling; and ongoing field studies. (LRW)

Discusses the use of bookmarks, or favorite places, and compares procedures for using them on the two main browsers, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Describes how to organize favorite Web sites using folders, how to share bookmarks between browsers, and checking for Web page updates and link changes. (LRW)

Describes Jamaica, a client-server system that profiles the interests of a Web searcher by using different search engines. Hits are verified to eliminate erroneous links and duplicated documents, and search results are ranked. Evaluation results indicate that Jamaica obtains more relevant information compared to a single search engine. (Author/LRW)