Discusses problems associated with using words to describe images and describes and analyzes user generation of captions and verbal responses within a Web-based collection of 300 diverse images. Discusses issues of larger-scale analysis, implementation, and possible shifts in understanding of representation for retrieval. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of electronic news available on the World Wide Web focuses on a methodology of associating news documents using similarity measures and a name-phrase algorithm to create news representations that can be compared and ranked to find related news items. Considers precision over recall and interactivity with the users. (Author/LRW)

Reviews research and practice in cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) that seeks to support the process of finding documents written in one natural language with automated systems that can accept queries expressed in other languages. Addresses user needs, document preprocessing, query formulation, matching strategies, sources of translation…

Discusses traditional information retrieval through indexing terms and describes a document storage and retrieval system based on structured information, where the SGML document is transformed into Grove (Graph Representation of Property Values) and stored at an element level by an object-oriented database management system. Also discusses query…

Discussion of information retrieval on the Web focuses on a study that is the result of ten replications of the 1996 Ding and Marchionini Web search tool research. Explores effects that replication can have on transforming unreliable results from one iteration into replicable and therefore reliable results following multiple iterations.…

Describes the MULINEX system that supports cross-lingual searching of the World Wide Web. Users can formulate queries, filter the search results and read documents by using their native language. Discusses dictionary-based query translation, multilingual document categorization, and automatic translation that supports French, German, and English.…

Develops a method of rough retrieval, an application of the rough set theory to information retrieval. The aim is to: (1) show that rough sets are naturally applied to information retrieval in which categorized information structure is used; and (2) show that a fuzzy retrieval scheme is induced from the rough retrieval. (AEF)

Examines basic issues of data mining using the theory of rough sets, a recent proposal for generalizing classical set theory. Demonstrates that a generalized rough set model can be used for generating rules from incomplete databases. Discusses the importance of rule extraction from incomplete databases in data mining. (AEF)

Presents an interview with Elizabeth Liddy, president of TextWise, an information access and analytics company. Background on TextWise is provided; advanced search engines are discussed; TextWise products and projects are described; and the changing role of information professionals is considered. (MES)

Image processing technology allows libraries to include photographs, paintings, monograph title pages, and maps in their databases. This article examines problems of and solutions to image indexing and retrieval, focusing on thesaurus-based indexing systems, visual thesauri and related hybrid systems, picture description languages, and image…

Compares/contrasts InfoTrac and ProQuest primarily as full-text resources to supplement retrieval of references contained in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) database. These databases are analyzed by examining their scope in terms of the number and types of serials covered within specific areas using…

This study proposes a probabilistic model for automatically extracting English noun phrases for indexing or information retrieval. The technique is based on a Markov model, whose initial parameters are estimated by a phrase lookup program with a phrase dictionary, then optimized by a set of maximum entropy parameters. (Author/LRW)

Studies aggressive automated word removal in text categorization in large databases based on corpus statistics to reduce the noise in free texts and to enhance the computational efficiency of categorization. Topics include stop word identification, categorization methods for comparison, tests on four document collections, and evaluation…

This study of scholars' judgments of information quality and cognitive authority when interacting with information on the World Wide Web is based on data from verbal protocols during the searches, search logs, and post-search interviews. Discusses predictive judgments made before scholars looked at Web pages and evaluative judgments made after.…

Explains Visual Information Retrieval Interfaces (VIRI) and examines the effectiveness of a two-dimensional display format compared to a more standard sorted result list. The Visual Information Browsing Environment (VIBE) was modified to investigate the interaction of the verbal and spatial abilities of users, as measured by cognitive factors…