Describes a survey of users of three academic libraries that examined users' reactions to CD-ROM products and compared their satisfaction with different products. Some of the evaluation criteria used include ease of use, satisfaction with the number and quality of citations retrieved, and time spent searching. The survey form is appended. (eight…

The effectiveness of using the age of references to control the exhaustivity of the reference representation in information retrieval was investigated through analysis of optimal cluster-based retrieval results. The results show that the foreground representation at its optimal level of exhaustivity is restricted to references with ages less than…

Reports on tests evaluating nine microcomputer software packages designed for information storage and retrieval: BRS-Search, dtSearch, InfoBank, Micro-OPC, Q&A, STN-PFS, Strix, TINman, and ZYindex. Tables and narrative evaluations detail results related to security, hardware, user features, search capability, indexing, input, maintenance of files,…

Describes a study conducted at Illinois State University that compared the results achieved by library users searching the ERIC database on CD-ROM with the results achieved by individual and teamed skilled intermediaries. Evaluation of library services is discussed, patron search strategies are examined, and strategies for improving patron…

Results of a formative evaluation of a decision aid for students of taxonomic domains such as statistics or biology are reported. The tool, XPT-EASE, is designed to allow a student to search a taxonomy by traversing its branches in an arbitrary order, presumably the order simplest for the student, rather than by starting from the root node and…

The Comparative Systems Laboratory (CSL) proposed to deal with the problems of testing retrieval systems by examining a number of processes involved in such systems, with particular attention to the human factor. It is hoped that the results of the project will be useful in refining methodologies for experimentation with information retrieval (IR)…

Reviews the literature on user studies in both online catalogs and bibliographic retrieval systems. User problems with both mechanical and conceptual aspects are reviewed and potential sources of problems due either to individual characteristics or system variables are discussed. Possible solutions and areas that need further research are noted.…

Describes how group of end users (engineering undergraduates) at Chalmers University of Technology were trained to perform interactive online searching on BYGGDOK, a small, specialized Scandinavian database. Goals and objectives of the instruction, teaching methods, evaluation, and comparison of searching between end users and intermediaries are…

Examines the structure and principles of various hierarchical guides, or hotlists, which attempt to give subject access to World Wide Web resources on the Internet. The lists are compared to classification schemes and to Library of Congress subject headings, and browsing and search engines are compared. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study conducted in England that compared elementary and secondary school students' use of CD-ROMs and the Internet to meet their information needs. Reviews related research, considers information needs in conjunction with information seeking behavior, and reports results that discuss home access, student attitudes, and search…

Explains an interdisciplinary framework for library information science, especially information retrieval, which considers sociocultural context of search terms in a way that the cognitivist information processing paradigm does not. Limitations of cognitivist information processing conceptions are discussed, as well as the possible effects of the…

Describes a project intended to improve subject access in an online catalog by adding multiword terms from the table of contents and index to MARC records for each book. The discussion covers a preliminary evaluation of the impact on workload, resources, and subject access to information. (seven references) (Author/CLB)

Describes a study that was conducted at the School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario, to examine search behavior of users in a hypertext information retrieval system. The effects of gender, search task, and search experience on two search options--analytical or browsing--are discussed. (Contains 15 references.) (LRW)

Discusses the implementation of a cartographic user interface to bibliographic and other information sub-spaces in astronomy. Presents a range of comparative assessments, in operational frameworks, of this approach to accessing and retrieving astronomical information. Discusses the particular role that such cartographic user interfaces can play in…

Describes a study of college students that investigated Web-based search engine queries and compared relevancy ratings with expert-formulated queries. Considers the number of subject terms used and the use of Boolean operators and discuses the need for designing search engine interfaces that provide greater support in term selection and operator…