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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1993

BRIAN VICKERY and ALINA VICKERY

There is a huge amount of information and data stored in publicly available online databases that consist of large text files accessed by Boolean search techniques. It is widely…

543

Abstract

There is a huge amount of information and data stored in publicly available online databases that consist of large text files accessed by Boolean search techniques. It is widely held that less use is made of these databases than could or should be the case, and that one reason for this is that potential users find it difficult to identify which databases to search, to use the various command languages of the hosts and to construct the Boolean search statements required. This reasoning has stimulated a considerable amount of exploration and development work on the construction of search interfaces, to aid the inexperienced user to gain effective access to these databases. The aim of our paper is to review aspects of the design of such interfaces: to indicate the requirements that must be met if maximum aid is to be offered to the inexperienced searcher; to spell out the knowledge that must be incorporated in an interface if such aid is to be given; to describe some of the solutions that have been implemented in experimental and operational interfaces; and to discuss some of the problems encountered. The paper closes with an extensive bibliography of references relevant to online search aids, going well beyond the items explicitly mentioned in the text. An index to software appears after the bibliography at the end of the paper.

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Journal of Documentation, vol. 49 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Article
Publication date: 1 May 1984

A.S. Pollitt

The subject of Expert Systems under the broader heading of intelligent knowledge‐based systems (IKBS) has attracted considerable attention over the last few years and is a central…

57

Abstract

The subject of Expert Systems under the broader heading of intelligent knowledge‐based systems (IKBS) has attracted considerable attention over the last few years and is a central theme in the initiatives of the Alvey Programme for Advanced Information Technology, and the Science and Engineering Research Council IKBS programme. The British Computer Society Expert Systems Specialist Group (BCS ESSG) was established to provide a focus for those concerned with the development of this new area of computing. There are several definitions as to what an Expert System is, one considered definition being that provided by the ESSG:

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Aslib Proceedings, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 1936

REPERCUSSIONS of the Margate Conference will be felt for some time to come. There is still the suggestion that one or the other side won in the debate on central control, for…

25

Abstract

REPERCUSSIONS of the Margate Conference will be felt for some time to come. There is still the suggestion that one or the other side won in the debate on central control, for example, but we would suggest that it was an occasion when a case was stated and combatted and that the result was the only wise one; that is to say, both parties agreed that the Council should consider the matter. It would be in the highest degree dangerous if at any open meeting of over 1,000 members of the Library Association any policy, then for the first time outlined, should be adopted as a settled rule of life. Such questions as central control have to be considered in all their bearings, and admirable as was the case Colonel Mitchell made for it, and forceful as was Mr. Berwick Sayers's rejoinder, they would not be regarded as final statements, even by themselves. There were some murmurings at the swift close of the debate, and there were more than murmurings that so important a matter should arise without due notice. These are not quite reasonable, and no one could have handled the meeting more quietly and impartially than the President (Mr. Savage) did. That no notice was given of the debate is hardly true although the words of the motion proposed by Colonel Mitchell were not known until the debate began; but the intention of the debate was to elicit opinions which might help the council in framing a policy; there was no intention to reach a decision or to publish the results of the meeting. A considered report, twelve months hence, on the deliberations of the L.A. Council on the matter should be far better than any account of the vapourings at Margate.

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New Library World, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1985

Y. Paker

The British Computer Society is a professional body representing the computing profession in the UK. Within the Society are a number of specialist groups, two of which are the…

20

Abstract

The British Computer Society is a professional body representing the computing profession in the UK. Within the Society are a number of specialist groups, two of which are the Specialist Group for Developing Countries (Chairman, Dr Y. Paker) and the Information Retrieval Specialist Group (Chairman, Mr A.S. Pollitt). Informal contacts between members of these two groups have recognised:

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Program, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0033-0337

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1987

Alina Vickery and Helen Brooks

1. Introduction Probably the “hottest” topic in the LISA (Library and Information Systems) world in recent times is the idea of developing systems which can act “intelligently” by…

124

Abstract

1. Introduction Probably the “hottest” topic in the LISA (Library and Information Systems) world in recent times is the idea of developing systems which can act “intelligently” by using the knowledge of a human expert (within our context, that of an intermediary or a librarian). Such knowledge‐based systems are popularly known as “expert systems”.

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Online Review, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-314X

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1990

EFTHIMIS N. EFTHIMIADIS

This review reports on the current state and the potential of tools and systems designed to aid online searching, referred to here as online searching aids. Intermediary…

263

Abstract

This review reports on the current state and the potential of tools and systems designed to aid online searching, referred to here as online searching aids. Intermediary mechanisms are examined in terms of the two stage model, i.e. end‐user, intermediary, ‘raw database’, and different forms of user — system interaction are discussed. The evolution of the terminology of online searching aids is presented with special emphasis on the expert/non‐expert division. Terms defined include gateways, front‐end systems, intermediary systems and post‐processing. The alternative configurations that such systems can have and the approaches to the design of the user interface are discussed. The review then analyses the functions of online searching aids, i.e. logon procedures, access to hosts, help features, search formulation, query reformulation, database selection, uploading, downloading and post‐processing. Costs are then briefly examined. The review concludes by looking at future trends following recent developments in computer science and elsewhere. Distributed expert based information systems (debis), the standard generalised mark‐up language (SGML), the client‐server model, object‐orientation and parallel processing are expected to influence, if they have not done so already, the design and implementation of future online searching aids.

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Journal of Documentation, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1989

ROY DAVIES

Knowledge can be created by drawing inferences from what is already known. Often some of the requisite information is lacking and has to be gathered by whatever research…

445

Abstract

Knowledge can be created by drawing inferences from what is already known. Often some of the requisite information is lacking and has to be gathered by whatever research techniques are appropriate, e.g. experiments, surveys etc. Even if the information has all been published already, unless it is retrieved no inferences will be drawn from it and consequently there will exist some knowledge that is implicit in the literature and yet is not known by anyone. This ‘undiscovered public knowledge’, as it is termed by Swanson, may exist in the following forms: (i) a hidden refutation or qualification of a hypothesis; (ii) an undrawn conclusion from two or more premises; (iii) the cumulative evidence of weak, independent tests; (iv) solutions to analogous problems; (v) hidden correlations between factors. Methods of classification may also play a direct role in the creation of original knowledge. Novel solutions to problems may be discovered by generating different combinations of the basic features of the solutions, as is done in morphological analysis. Alternatively a natural classification may identify gaps in existing knowledge. This paper reviews previous work on producing knowledge by information retrieval or classification and describes techniques by which hidden knowledge may be retrieved, e.g. serendipity in browsing, use of appropriate search strategies and, possibly in the future, methods based on Farradane's relational indexing or artificial intelligence.

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Journal of Documentation, vol. 45 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1984

Roy Davies and Brian James

Librarians have sought to reduce the cost of cataloguing by sharing bibliographic data, but it is still an expensive, labour intensive process which is a reason why short entry…

287

Abstract

Librarians have sought to reduce the cost of cataloguing by sharing bibliographic data, but it is still an expensive, labour intensive process which is a reason why short entry catalogues have been advocated. Existing computer systems have tended to automate the clerical aspects of cataloguing but developments in artificial intelligence hold out the prospect of automating the professional aspects too. The feasibility of creating an expert system for cataloguing using the PROLOG programming language, was the subject of a postgraduate research project at Exeter University. Such a system would be capable of applying many AACR2 cataloguing rules automatically and would also cope with rules governing local practices.

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Program, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0033-0337

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Book part
Publication date: 9 October 1996

Bryce Allen

Abstract

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Information Tasks: Toward a User-centered Approach to Information Systems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-801-8

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Vanda Broughton

The aim of this article is to estimate the impact of faceted classification and the faceted analytical method on the development of various information retrieval tools over the…

10191

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this article is to estimate the impact of faceted classification and the faceted analytical method on the development of various information retrieval tools over the latter part of the twentieth and early twenty‐first centuries.

Design/methodology/approach

The article presents an examination of various subject access tools intended for retrieval of both print and digital materials to determine whether they exhibit features of faceted systems. Some attention is paid to use of the faceted approach as a means of structuring information on commercial web sites. The secondary and research literature is also surveyed for commentary on and evaluation of facet analysis as a basis for the building of vocabulary and conceptual tools.

Findings

The study finds that faceted systems are now very common, with a major increase in their use over the last 15 years. Most LIS subject indexing tools (classifications, subject heading lists and thesauri) now demonstrate features of facet analysis to a greater or lesser degree. A faceted approach is frequently taken to the presentation of product information on commercial web sites, and there is an independent strand of theory and documentation related to this application. There is some significant research on semi‐automatic indexing and retrieval (query expansion and query formulation) using facet analytical techniques.

Originality/value

This article provides an overview of an important conceptual approach to information retrieval, and compares different understandings and applications of this methodology.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 58 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

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