Explores the properties of independent variables in information retrieval systems and defines a class of basic variables named M-factors. (Author/PF)

This report summarizes the work carried out on the automatic construction of keyword classifications and their use in information retrieval. It discusses the possible characteristics of such classifications, and potential ways of using them; and describes the various approaches to classification that were considered in terms of an overall frame of…

The main purpose of the experiment was to answer the question whether broad or narrow terms function most effectively in the retrieval of relevant documents. The answer depends on what the user of the retrieval system wants, his wants being expressed in terms of stated precision-recall preference, or by the exact number of relevant documents he…

Present day shortcomings in information retrieval are the results of a failure to properly contend with the problem of data representation. The index provides the necessary linkage between a multiplicity of sources and a single receiver. Whether considering the source/document-space interface or the query/index interface, the elements of the…

The ability of various Aerospace Materials Information Center (AMIC) information specialists to prepare search strategies for document retrieval was studied by providing ten typical search request statements to seven information specialists. Each specialist prepared search strategies independently. Significant variations occurred among the…

Suggests that a possible reason for receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves having a slope other than unity when plotted on Normal-deviate axes is that the dichotomy into relevant and nonrelevant items is artificial, and that there is really a bivariate distribution of objective relevance and relevance as assessed by the information…

This study examined the effectiveness using an automatic algorithm to rank the results of Boolean searches of an inverted file design document retrieval system. Relevant documents were ranked significantly higher than nonrelevant documents on output lists. (Author/KP)

The theory of fuzzy sets is used to provide a rigorous formulation of the problem of associative retrieval. This formulation suggests the idea of using fuzzy clustering to organize data for retrieval. (Author)

The derivation of a general retrieval effectiveness measure is investigated. Inconsistencies in the definition of relative importance are resolved, and it is shown that the influence of the assigned weight on the effectiveness measure can produce counterintuitive results. An alternative effectiveness measure provided by the Marczewski-Steinhaus…

Proposes an alternative methodology for handling queries with weighted search terms or search criteria in a fuzzy environment as a means of improving the performance of information retrieval systems. (EM)

Describes a computerized information retrieval system that uses three agglomerative hierarchic clustering algorithms--single link, complete link, and group average link--and explains their implementations. It is noted that these implementations have been used to cluster a collection of 12,000 documents. (LRW)

Describes a cluster-based information retrieval procedure that can significantly reduce the computational requirements of the single linkage method, while still maintaining the retrieval effectiveness of the resulting classifications. Use of nearest neighbors, experimental details, and results and conclusions are highlighted. Fourteen references…

Describes a natural language searching strategy for retrieving current material which has bearing on George Orwell's "1984," and identifies four main themes (technology, authoritarianism, press and psychological/linguistic implications of surveillance, political oppression) which have emerged from cross-database searches of the "Big…

An "answer-passage" is a passage which is either answer-providing or "answer indicative." New text searching techniques for the retrieval of answer-passages are discussed. Appendices listing thesauri, glossaries and dictionaries, syntactic joints, and connector words are included. (31 references) (Author/RS)