Describes the "Toronto Globe and Mail" database-the first example of the entire text of a major daily newspaper online, and notes the file elements and possible search strategies. (RAA)

Presents a chart that explains the search syntax, features, and commands used by the 12 most widely used general Web search engines. Discusses Web standardization, expanded types of content searched, size of databases, and search engines that include both simple and advanced versions. (LRW)

Explains search engines that are used on the World Wide Web to find information on the Internet. Highlights include eight search engines with information on how to find the help screen; four "spiders" that conduct searches of several search engines; and four online sites for learning more about using search engines. (LRW)

Discusses methods of searching the World Wide Web and describes 10 Web sites for "panoramic" searching, 13 for "omnibus" searching, 4 for link-following packages, 4 for content delivery services, 1 for directed searching, and off-line Internet searching on Yellow Pages for the Web. (LRW)

Reviews the origins of post-coordinate searching and emphasizes that the focal point should be on the searcher, not on the item being indexed. Highlights include the history of the term information retrieval; edge notched punch cards; the "peek-a-boo" system; the Uniterm system; and using computers to search for information. (LRW)

Discusses the confusion among end users in using Boolean operators when searching electronic resources. Highlights include search engines; site-specific search engines; the counterintuitive nature of Boolean logic; hidden defaults; the problem of conceptualization; reprogramming defaults; and a lack of user education. (LRW)

Proposes an effective term suggestion approach to interactive Web searches. Explains a log-based approach to relevant term extraction and term suggestion where relevant terms suggested for a user query are those that co-occur in similar query sessions from search engine logs rather than in the retrieved documents. (Author/LRW)

Investigated how users reacted to breakdown situations that generated error messages when browsing the Web. Results showed error messages were not helpful to users in diagnosing the cause of the problem and suggests the need for a model of Web browsing that would be available for users to learn from the error messages. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of knowledge management for electronic data focuses on creating a high quality similarity ranking algorithm. Topics include similarity ranking and unstructured data management; searching, categorization, and summarization of documents; query evaluation; considering sentences in addition to keywords; and vector models. (LRW)

Discusses recommendation, or preference ordering, in document retrieval systems that ranks documents in order of the likelihood with which they match the preferences of any person searching the system. Describes the ERIn (Evaluation-Recommendation-Information) model, a decision-theoretic framework for understanding information-related activity…

Describes resources for researchers called the Invisible Web that are hidden from the usual search engines and other tools and contrasts them with those resources available on the surface Web. Identifies specialized search tools, databases, and strategies that can be used to locate credible in-depth information. (Author/LRW)

Describes the development and functions of a text retrieval program that makes extensive use of the best match model of document retrieval rather than the Boolean model. The use of the program in teaching and research at the University of Sheffield is summarized. (24 references) (CLB)

Explains seven types of subject descriptions commonly used in databases--hierarchical classification, category codes, subject headings, descriptors, faceted classification, post-controlled vocabulary, and natural language--and describes specific search techniques for taking advantage of the strengths of particular types of vocabularies. An overall…

Explains componentware, a new paradigm in software development that is based on the concept of a software component, a self-contained unit of software which can be distributed over large networks. Discusses the need for new, Internet-based search and retrieval mechanisms, and the architectural requirements and mechanisms of componentware.…

Describes Web versions of online systems and considers advantages and trade-offs for information professionals and other searchers. Web versions highlighted include Dow Jones Interactive; Dialog; LEXIS-NEXIS; and STN. (LRW)