Describes the two basic approaches to the calculation of term discrimination values for automatic indexing. The results of an experiment that investigated the differences between algorithms of these two approaches in terms of their impact on the discrimination value model are reported and discussed. (13 references) (Author/CLB)

Compares the implied ontological frameworks of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting and the World Wide Web Consortium's Semantic Web. Discusses current search engine technology, semantic markup, indexing principles of special libraries and online databases, and componentization and the distinction between data and…

Describes experiments that compared a new method for automatically analyzing semantic structures in text by statistical means with the standard vector space model. Findings indicate that combining both methods improved performance over either alone. The effects of other experimental variables on retrieval performance (term weighting, suffix…

Describes four approaches to art historical scholarship, including iconography, and identifies the common characteristics of several iconographical research collections. Topics discussed include the reasons for the limitation of some collections to secondary subject matter, and future directions in subject access to iconographic research…

Considers the quality of bibliographic control achieved by the three online databases offering significant coverage of the literature of librarianship: ERIC, LISA, and Library Literature. Focusing on coverage and indexing, the study compares online search results with the tables of contents of 67 journals and reports the results. (27 references)…

Discussion of indexing moving image documents at the shot level focuses on a study conducted at the National Film Board of Canada. Popular terms supplied by users were compared with terms assigned by professional indexers in the source stockshot collection. Results suggest that indexing images using preiconographic (ofness) and iconographic…

Examines the overlap of article coverage and the consistency of indexing between the "Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals" and the "Architectural Periodicals Index." The historical backgrounds of the two indexes are described, possibilities for collaboration between them are considered, and implications for users are…

Proposes an automated document classification system based on the Gray code, information-theoretic considerations, and requirements of classification systems including objectivity, inclusion, linearity, and increasing distance-dissimilarity. A measure to evaluate system performance is developed, and the proposed system is compared with the Library…

Investigation of retrieval performance of controlled vocabulary derived from natural language terms in tables of contents and book indexes assumed that controlled vocabulary representative of users' queries should adequately represent documents' contents. Queries were indexed using Library of Congress Subject Headings (LSCH), Dewey Decimal…

In World Wide Web indexing: (1) the creation process is automated; (2) the indexes are merely descriptive, not analytical of document content; (3) results may be sorted differently depending on the search engine; and (4) indexes link directly to the resources. This article compares the indexing methods and querying options of the search engines…

This study examines the differences in subject approaches found between two secondary services in education: Education Index and ERIC's Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). A sample of 30 journal articles was taken from each tool in the areas of educational psychology, school administration, and special education; after an investigation…

Presents the advantages and disadvantages of free text and controlled vocabulary retrieval techniques and a methodology to assist in deciding on the optimal technique for a particular purpose. The relevance of the techniques for expert systems and full text contexts is also discussed and recommendations for further research are made. (Author/EM)

Describes an investigation of the use of document components, such as terms, sentences, and whole documents, for indexing and retrieval. A number of probabilistic similarity measures based on document components are studied, as well as a new method of handling probability estimations involving small sample sizes. (24 references) (Author/CLB)

Focuses on indexing refinements in major life science databases--those specializing in biological/biomedical literature coverage--which influence cross-life searching decisions. Tables included highlight database descriptions, comparisons in coverage, ease of access (indexing of secondary concepts or search modifiers), chemical substance indexing…

Demonstrates efficiency of preparation of query description using semantic analyser method based on analysis of semantic structure of documents in field of automatic indexing. Results obtained are compared with automatic indexing results performed by traditional methods and results of indexing done by human indexers. Sample terms and codes are…