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1 – 10 of over 9000Khaled A. Mohamed and Ahmed Hassan
This study aims to explore a framework for evaluating and comparing two federated search tools (FSTs) using two different retrieval protocols: XML gateways and Z39.50. FSTs are…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore a framework for evaluating and comparing two federated search tools (FSTs) using two different retrieval protocols: XML gateways and Z39.50. FSTs are meta-information retrieval systems developed to facilitate the searching of multiple resources through a single search box. FSTs allow searching of heterogeneous platforms, such as bibliographic and full-text databases, online public access catalogues, web search engines and open-access resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed framework consists of three phases: the usability testing, retrievability performance assessment and overall comparison. The think-aloud protocol was implemented for usability testing and FSTs retrieval consistency, and precision tests were carried out to assess the retrievability performance for 20 real user queries.
Findings
Participants were directed to assign weights for the interface usability and system retrievability importance as indicators for FST evaluation. Results indicated that FSTs retrievability performance was of more importance than the interface usability. Participants assigned an average weight of 62 per cent for the system retrievability and 38 per cent for interface usability. In terms of the usability test, there was no significant difference between the two FSTs, while minor differences were found regarding retrieval consistency and precision at 11-point cut-off recall. The overall evaluation showed that the FST based on the XML gateway rated slightly higher than the FST based on the Z39.50 protocol.
Research limitations/implications
This empirical study faced several limitations. First, the lack of participants’ familiarity with usability testing created the need for a deep awareness and rigorous supervision. Second, the difficulties of empirically assessing participants’ perspectives and future attitudes called for mixing between a formal task and the think-aloud protocol for participants in a real environment. This has been a challenge that faced the collection of the usability data including user behaviour, expectations and other empirical data. Third, the differences between the two FSTs in terms of number of connectors and advanced search techniques required setting rigorous procedures for testing FSTs retrieval consistency and precision.
Practical implications
This paper has practical implications in two dimensions. First, its results could be utilized by FST developers to enhance their product’s performance. Second, the framework could be used by librarians to evaluate FSTs performance and capabilities. The framework enables them to compare between library systems in general and FSTs in particular. In addition to these practical implications, the authors encourage researchers to use and enhance the proposed framework.
Social implications
Librarians can use the proposed framework to empirically select an FST, involving users in the selection procedures of these information retrieval systems, so that it accords with users’ perspectives and attitudes and serves the community better.
Originality/value
The proposed framework could be considered a benchmark for FST evaluation.
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Eric G. Sieverts and Marten Hofstede
The more than 3700 data presented in the tables of preceding articles in this series, pertaining to 37 different software packages for information storage and retrieval (ISR), may…
Abstract
The more than 3700 data presented in the tables of preceding articles in this series, pertaining to 37 different software packages for information storage and retrieval (ISR), may seem overwhelming to the reader who needs to make a well‐founded choice. To make this task easier, some general questions can be asked with respect to the required ISR application. These questions can be summarised as: What sort of information? How much? For whom? For what purpose? At what cost? The discussion about user needs, typical applications and lists of demands centres around these five basic questions in relation to the categories of retrieval software which were identified in the six earlier articles. They cover the whole range from bibliographic software to advanced full‐text retrieval software.
Aabid Hussain, Sumeer Gul, Tariq Ahmad Shah and Sheikh Shueb
The purpose of this study is to explore the retrieval effectiveness of three image search engines (ISE) – Google Images, Yahoo Image Search and Picsearch in terms of their image…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the retrieval effectiveness of three image search engines (ISE) – Google Images, Yahoo Image Search and Picsearch in terms of their image retrieval capability. It is an effort to carry out a Cranfield experiment to know how efficient the commercial giants in the image search are and how efficient an image specific search engine is.
Design/methodology/approach
The keyword search feature of three ISEs – Google images, Yahoo Image Search and Picsearch – was exploited to make search with keyword captions of photos as query terms. Selected top ten images were used to act as a testbed for the study, as images were searched in accordance with features of the test bed. Features to be looked for included size (1200 × 800), format of images (JPEG/JPG) and the rank of the original image retrieved by ISEs under study. To gauge the overall retrieval effectiveness in terms of set standards, only first 50 result hits were checked. Retrieval efficiency of select ISEs were examined with respect to their precision and relative recall.
Findings
Yahoo Image Search outscores Google Images and Picsearch both in terms of precision and relative recall. Regarding other criteria – image size, image format and image rank in search results, Google Images is ahead of others.
Research limitations/implications
The study only takes into consideration basic image search feature, i.e. text-based search.
Practical implications
The study implies that image search engines should focus on relevant descriptions. The study evaluated text-based image retrieval facilities and thereby offers a choice to users to select best among the available ISEs for their use.
Originality/value
The study provides an insight into the effectiveness of the three ISEs. The study is one of the few studies to gauge retrieval effectiveness of ISEs. Study also produced key findings that are important for all ISE users and researchers and the Web image search industry. Findings of the study will also prove useful for search engine companies to improve their services.
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Rahmatollah Fattahi and Ebrahim Afshar
Information, owing to its nature, has numerous capabilities. Through utilizing these capabilities, information systems can add to the value of information. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Information, owing to its nature, has numerous capabilities. Through utilizing these capabilities, information systems can add to the value of information. The purpose of this paper is to explain where and how added value emerges from the work processes in library and information professions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with a review of the related literature and then takes a conceptual approach to discuss different values of information and IR systems; elaborates on how each of the processes such as assessment of needs, selection, description/organization, storage/processing, search/retrieval, and dissemination generate capabilities that lead to added value.
Findings
The paper identifies that added value is generated through processes such as reproduction, exchange, transfer, refinement, analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and regeneration of information. Many such processes turn information into knowledge.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on the author's reflections on the matter of added value generated by library and information practice. Further empirical studies are needed to substantiate the extent to which such values are generated through information systems and services in the real world.
Practical implications
Librarians and information specialists can find through their working practice how to design systems and services which can generate added value for information.
Originality/value
In the present evolving conditions, library and information professionals are able to add to the value of information by sharing their knowledge with the expertise of computer scientists and finding a variety of ways and up‐to‐date methods of optimizing existing systems, as well as designing new systems. These are the two strategies along which the profession should guide its educational, research and practical endeavors.
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Monica Brinkley and Mary Burke
Evaluates the principal tools available for the retrieval ofinformation from the Internet, e.g. Hytelnet, Archie, Gopher, WAIS, andthe World Wide Web (WWW). Principally…
Abstract
Evaluates the principal tools available for the retrieval of information from the Internet, e.g. Hytelnet, Archie, Gopher, WAIS, and the World Wide Web (WWW). Principally concentrates on an evaluation of the user interface and search software for each of the aforementioned tools. Concludes with a brief perspective of Internet information retrieval and the implications for the future.
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Invoices, bills of lading, purchase orders, and the tons of costly paper transactions written by businesses each year may become relics of the past as industries implement…
Abstract
Invoices, bills of lading, purchase orders, and the tons of costly paper transactions written by businesses each year may become relics of the past as industries implement Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). EDI, forecast to grow 73% annually over the next five years, could erode the stacks of paper files and bring many companies into the twenty‐first century with instant, direct transfer of business documents. A direct result of this growth, according to a new 199‐page report by Frost & Sullivan on The Electronic Data Interchange Market in the US. (♯A 1911) is the development of document format standards that enable computer‐to‐computer transmission of business forms to multiple industries.
Dennis A. Norlin, Elizabeth R. Cardman, Elisabeth B. Davis, Raeann Dossett, Barbara Henigman, William H. Mischo and Leslie Troutman
Shortcomings in the BRS MENTOR mainframe interface and the desirability of using the workstation capabilities of the PC were factors in the decision to develop and implement a…
Abstract
Shortcomings in the BRS MENTOR mainframe interface and the desirability of using the workstation capabilities of the PC were factors in the decision to develop and implement a microcomputer‐based interface to the BRS software and associated databases. The Interface Design Subcommittee's charge was to design and implement the interface components for the Library Information Workstation, a microcomputer public terminal that provides access to local and remote online catalogs, periodical index databases, campus information resources, and information files stored on the microcomputer. This article focuses on the design of the interface to the BRS/SEARCH software and ancillary periodical index databases—initially Current Contents, six Wilson databases, and ERIC.
In little more than one year, seven vendors have introduced CD‐ROM‐based public access catalog systems. They vary widely in price, features, and performance. Three scenarios are…
Abstract
In little more than one year, seven vendors have introduced CD‐ROM‐based public access catalog systems. They vary widely in price, features, and performance. Three scenarios are defined, which represent the requirements of libraries of diverse sizes and groupings. For each scenario, prices of CD‐ROM systems are compared for the first and subsequent two years. The features of the systems are also compared in some detail. The prices and descriptions of features reflect the marketplace as of late summer 1987.
This study evaluated two different types of online information retrieval (IR) systems: online databases and Web search engines, in terms of user generated criteria. It also…
Abstract
This study evaluated two different types of online information retrieval (IR) systems: online databases and Web search engines, in terms of user generated criteria. It also compares four types of Web search engines: directories, search engines, meta‐search engines, and specialized search engines. The results show that three elements are essential to users in the evaluation of online IR systems: interface design, system performance and collection coverage. While participants preferred the ease of use and intuitive interfaces of Web search engines, they also liked the credible and useful information offered by online databases. Based on the discussion of advantages and problems of online databases and Web search engines, implications of for the design of IR systems are further suggested.
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Kalervo Järvelin, Peter Ingwersen and Timo Niemi
This article presents a novel user‐oriented interface for generalised informetric analysis and demonstrates how informetric calculations can easily and declaratively be specified…
Abstract
This article presents a novel user‐oriented interface for generalised informetric analysis and demonstrates how informetric calculations can easily and declaratively be specified through advanced data modelling techniques. The interface is declarative and at a high level. Therefore it is easy to use, flexible and extensible. It enables end users to perform basic informetric ad hoc calculations easily and often with much less effort than in contemporary online retrieval systems. It also provides several fruitful generalisations of typical informetric measurements like impact factors. These are based on substituting traditional foci of analysis, for instance journals, by other object types, such as authors, organisations or countries. In the interface, bibliographic data are modelled as complex objects (non‐first normal form relations) and terminological and citation networks involving transitive relationships are modelled as binary relations for deductive processing. The interface is flexible, because it makes it easy to switch focus between various object types for informetric calculations, e.g. from authors to institutions. Moreover, it is demonstrated that all informetric data can easily be broken down by criteria that foster advanced analysis, e.g. by years or content‐bearing attributes. Such modelling allows flexible data aggregation along many dimensions. These salient features emerge from the query interface‘s general data restructuring and aggregation capabilities combined with transitive processing capabilities. The features are illustrated by means of sample queries and results in the article.
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