Introduces the multicharacter trie as an index structure that can improve the time needed for retrieving full-text materials stored on CD-ROMs. The advantages of this structure compared to other structures are described, and experimental results comparing it to the widely used B+ tree and other structures used for full-text retrieval are…

Argues for a definition of information based on the facts and data contained within scientific documents, and which are consistent with their conceptual interrelationships. The scope and limitations of the definition are discussed, and analyses of the information content of a scientific paper and an abstract are appended. References are provided.…

Presents the state-of-the-art of information systems monitoring, addressing historical and current approaches and manual and automated techniques; develops the concept of automated monitoring into a well-defined methodology; formulates methodologies/techniques/theoretical foundations for analyzing monitored data; and discusses computer based…

Discussion of retrieval overlap and relevant overlap focuses on an analysis of data from an earlier study on overlap among document representations. This new analysis investigated the odds that an item was judged relevant when it was retrieved by two search fields as opposed to being retrieved by only one field. (Contains 17 references.) (LRW)

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 an interface mechanism called "complex view support" to be used with a relational database system (RDBS) in supporting increasingly complex distributed environments in automated library systems. The interface system refers queries to multidimensional tables as well as to flat tables on RDBS and is shown to efficiently support…

A step-by-step outline is presented for testing the applicability of Lotka's law of scientific productivity. Steps include the computation of the values of the exponent and constant based on Lotka's method and the test for significance of observed frequency distribution against the estimated theoretical distribution derived from Lotka's formula.…

Summarizes the findings of a recent study on the indexing practices used in the Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) database. Descriptors, or indexing terms, from the thesaurus are analyzed; searching implications are discussed; and the relationship between the classification code and the descriptors is examined. (Contains 21…

Demonstrates visualization techniques using the tuple frequency method that helps organize data generated in computational studies of literary style. Two-dimensional representations of the style of the authors of "The Federalist Papers" are explained that were used to determine the authorship of unattributed papers. (Contains 13…

Discusses the United States economy and reviews National Income Accounting concepts and evidence about future of an information economy. It is concluded that information economy growth will be in products, not services, and that it will not continue at same rate it has in past. Thirty-six references are cited. (EJS)

Reports a study that examined 10 collections of mainly scientific subject areas indexed using Farradane's system of relational indexing. It compared (1) the use of relations, (2) the use of concept types, (3) the cross sections (or shape) of abstracts, and (4) the properties of "nodes." Statistical tables and graphs are included.…

Describes a study comparing information retrieval from print and CD-ROM versions of Compton's Encyclopedia. Forty-eight sixth-grade students searched four questions in both versions. The results showed that the searches took the same amount of time in both. The novice searchers were able to use an information retrieval system with minimal…

Presents Price's law, which states that half of the literature on a subject will be contributed by the square root of total number of authors publishing in that area, and assesses it against empirical evidence and simulated productivity distributions. The discussion covers this law's relation to Lotka's law and its empirical validity. (Author/CLB)

Results of an investigation designed to determine whether the impact factor or the immediacy index--two derivative measures of citation analysis--provide useful insights into qualitative relationships among scientific journals indicate that neither measure is significant. (MBR)

Examines journal influence in communicating management information systems (MIS) research over a nine-year period using citation analyses, researcher perceptions, and publishing patterns of MIS research universities. A core group of MIS journals is identified, and ranking according to journal influence is discussed. (37 references) (LRW)