Four empirical laws of bibliometrics--anomalous number, Lotka's, Zipf's, and Bradford's--together with Laplace's "law of succession" and de Solla Price's cumulative advantage distribution are shown to be almost identical. A simple model shows that the frequency forms conform with inverse square law over appropriate interval. (Fifteen…

Reports on the validity of the Multiple Poisson (nP) model of word distribution in full-text document collections. A practical algorithm for determining whether a certain word is distributed according to an nP distribution and the results of a test of this algorithm in three different document collections are described. (14 references) (KRN)

A method for assessing scientific performance based on relationships displayed numerically in published documents is proposed and illustrated using published documents in pediatric oncology for the period 1979-1982. Contributions of a major clinical investigations group, the Childrens Cancer Study Group, are analyzed. Twenty-nine references are…

Describes a general framework for the evaluation of sets of links for user navigation between images in pictorial data banks and gives an example of the construction of a connection graph in a large image bank. A study of user navigation behavior in this set of links is described and the results are discussed. (18 references) (LAE)

Empirical significance of document partitions is investigated as a function of index term-weight and similarity thresholds. Results show the same empirically preferred partitions can be detected by two independent strategies: an analysis of cluster-based retrieval analysis and an analysis of regularities in the underlying structure of the document…

This analysis of information contents of documents (i.e., network of nodes which represent facts reported therein and their conceptual interconnections) yields a method for quantitative measurement of such content. Basic premises, calculation, salient features of the method, and information theories are discussed. Four references, graphic…

Describes a model for the workload of a full text retrieval system and of a simulation model for a version of an existing system called Full/Text. The effectiveness of various data caching strategies using the 2 models are explored, and the impact of various parameters on the strategies are evaluated. (13 references) (LRW)

Discusses access to nontextual documents in large multimedia document bases. A hybrid information retrieval model, using queries in a hypertext environment for location of browsing areas, is presented; and two experiments using cluster-based descriptions of content are reported. (23 references) (EA)

Describes an expected precision (EP) measure designed to predict document retrieval performance. Highlights include decision theoretic models; precision and recall as measures of system performance; EP graphs; relevance feedback; and computing the retrieval status value of a document for two models, the Binary Independent Model and the Two Poisson…

Discussion of search strategies in information retrieval systems focuses on the implementation of document ranking based on inverted files. Highlights include descriptions of three heuristic methods for implementing a weighting strategy and a comparison of two methods for estimating retrieval accuracy, including document movement and linear…

Describes and organizes the variables affecting display presentation format (i.e., tables and graphs) in information systems into a classification scheme and creates a framework for research in this area. Two-factor studies are discussed; research recommendations are presented; and Cognitive Match Interface Design is explained. (Contains 31…

Discusses current use of psychological theory in software science and reviews recent developments in cognitive psychology relevant to programing (human information processing, expert-novice differences). Critique of Maurice Halstead's model of cognitive aspects of programing and a structured data flow perspective (control flow and data flow…

Describes work performed under the Spelling Error Detection Correction Project (SPEEDCOP) at Chemical Abstracts Service to devise effective automatic methods of detecting and correcting misspellings in scholarly and scientific text. The trigram analysis technique developed determined sites but not types of errors. Thirteen references are listed.…

Discusses trade-off analysis, a data collection method with conjoint measurement technique in which respondents rank order a matrix of pairs of levels of specific attributes, and gives examples for use in determining library users' perceptions of relative utility of completeness of information versus cost of a search. Twelve sources are cited.…

Reports algorithm for calculation of term discrimination values that is sufficiently fast in operation to permit use of exact values. Evidence is presented to show that relationship between term discrimination and term frequency is crucially dependent upon type of inter-document similarity measure used for calculation of discrimination values. (13…