Discusses evidence-based medicine (EBM) and the need for systematic use of databases like MEDLINE with more sophisticated search strategies to optimize the retrieval of relevant papers. Describes an empirical study of hospital libraries that examined requests for information and search strategies using both structured and unstructured forms.…

This study examined the quality of medical students' confidence estimates in answering questions in bacteriology based on personal knowledge alone and what they retrieved from a factual database in microbiology, in order to determine whether medical students can recognize when an information need has been fulfilled and when it has not. (Author/LRW)

Describes the development of electronic finding aids for archives at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign that used XML (extensible markup language) and EAD (encoded archival description) to enable more flexible information management and retrieval than using MARC or a relational database management system. EAD template is appended.…

Discusses indexing in large text databases, approximate text searching, and space-time tradeoffs for indexed text searching. Studies the space overhead and retrieval times as functions of the text block size, concludes that an index can be sublinear in space overhead and query time, and applies the analysis to the Web. (Author/LRW)

Discusses how to support effective interaction of users with heterogeneous and distributed information resources in a digital library environment. Compares usability, user preference, effectiveness, and searching behaviors in systems that implement interaction with multiple databases through a common interface, and with multiple databases as if…

Describes a database of information made available by the North Central Association Commission on Schools to assist schools with the tasks involved in the school improvement process. Discusses how to use this expert database. Provides suggestions for its use and an outline of 54 target areas. (VWC)

Indexing is the preprocessing of information to enable its retrieval, ranging from classification-based (precoordinate) to keyword searching (postcoordinate) approaches. This article describes a framework for modelling information retrieval systems in terms of sets of objects, relationships, and functions and discusses the application of indexing…

Gives detailed information needed to begin using a common database program such as "Access" or "Paradox" for scheduling college English courses. (PA)

Review of research using data from five British national demographic surveys showed that secondary analyses occurred less often in education; such analyses focused on the effect of educational qualifications on employment; and some data remain relatively unexploited. (SK)

Sailor, Maryland's public information network, has become a national model for public libraries and states planning telecommunications networks and library systems integration. This article summarizes the design and implementation of the network's Internet resource collection development, highlighting the database committee, editorial board,…

Studied the reliability and accuracy of data from Statistics Sweden's Level of Living Surveys (register data) on the return on schooling using a sample of 2,914 adults. Findings show that this register data does not show some partial secondary and postsecondary studies that did not lead to degrees, and that there are difference in annual and…

Gives examples of how research can inform practice in correctional education by building theory and providing evidence of impact. Describes information sources: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, National Institute for Literacy, ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, and National Center for…

Explores the use of language corpora, focusing on the use of corpora in the classroom by students rather than as a background resource for teachers and materials designers. (Author/VWL)

Presents a strategic evaluation of the global multimedia scenario, considering both stand-alone workstations and distributed multimedia in the worldwide interactive network, including educational databases on the Internet. Discusses 50 technological, market, environmental, and regulatory factors and estimates their impacts on each other using WISE…

Presents experimentation results for the TELLTALE system, a dynamic hypertext environment that provides full-text search from a hypertext-style user interface for text corpora that may be garbled by OCR (optical character recognition) or transmission errors, and that may contain languages other than English. (Author/LRW)