Improved subject access, browsing and scanning mechanisms in modern on-line IR

ABSTRACT

Focusing on communication, the paper analyses and proposes practical solutions to key problems in online IR, in particular concerned with ill defined and “muddled” information requirements, concept interpretation in searching and text representation. The need for development of new additional browsing and scanning feedback devices, based on existing methods to support searchers is emphasised. The paper points to economically feasible indexing methods fitting the potentials of current information technology and adaptable to in-house information environments: the SAP (Subject Access Project) principles. Focusing display mechanisms and the term frequency analysis feature Zoom are discussed and suggested combined into a flexible database front-end. The design principles are outlined and demonstrated in a worked example.

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