SEMINAR ON THESAURUS (1975). P a p e r CB
QUERY F O R M U L A T I O N AND F E E D - B A C K STUDY FOR A THESAURUS BASED I N F O R M A T I O N S Y S T E M
N M MALWAD,
L i b r a r y Ik I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e s , B h a b h a A t o m i c R e s e a r c h C e n t r e , B o m b a y 400 085
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n i s a n output a c t i v i t y j u s t a s i n d e x i n g i s a n input a c t i v i t y . Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n t e c h n i q u e s a r e d i s c u s s e d , with r e f e r e n c e t o the I n t e r n a t i o n a l N u c l e a r I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m (INIS), i t s t h e s a u r u s and its d a t a b a s e . T h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f q u e r y b y f e e d - b a c k study i s e x a m i n e d . D i f f e r e n t t e c h n i q u e s of e v a l u a t i n g the r e t r i e v a l of d o c u m e n t s and s i m p l e m a t h e m a t i c a l e x p r e s s i o n s t o c a l c u l a t e r e c a l l r a t i o and p e r t i n e n c e r a t i o a r e given. T h e r a n k i n g of p e r t i n e n c y of d o c u m e n t s and its u t i l i t y is dis-c u s s e d .
1 I N T R O D U C T I O N t i o n and output u t i l i s a t i o n . T h e t h e s a u r u s c o v e r s the i n d e x t e r m s in the field of nuclear s c i e n c e and t e c h n o l o g y . The indexing technique followed i s c o o r d i n a t e i n d e x i n g .
I n f o r m a t i o n s t o r a g e and r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m s a r e , i n p r i n c i p l e , u s e r b a s e d and s e r v i c e -o r i e n t e d . What i n f -o r m a t i -o n is t-o be s t -o r e d in the s y s t e m and how i t i s t o b e s t o r e d a r e n a -t u r a l l y i m p o r -t a n -t q u e s -t i o n s . Bu-t e q u a l l y o r r a t h e r m o r e i m p o r t a n t i s the p r o b l e m , what i n f o r m a t i o n the s y s t e m i s a b l e t o r e t r i e v e , i n
r e s p o n s e to a r e q u e s t f r o m the u s e r of the s y s -t e m a n d how -t o m a k e -the s y s -t e m -t o u n c o v e r -the m a x i m u m of useful i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e r e t r i e v a l
g u i d e s the s t o r a g e b y e m p h a s i s i n g what i n f o r -m a t i o n i s e x p e c t e d f r o -m the s y s t e -m . While
s t o r i n g t h e i n f o r m a t i o n , the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and a n a l y s i s of s u b j e c t content and i n d e x i n g a r e i n -put a c t i v i t i e s . F o r r e t r i e v i n g the m a x i m u m n u m b e r o f r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s , the q u e r y f o r -m u l a t i o n i s a n i -m p o r t a n t output a c t i v i t y . 11 Definition
I n t h i s p a p e r , q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n i s t a k e n as the t e c h n i q u e of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s of u s e r into a s e t of d e s c r i p t o r s or g r o u p s of d e s c r i p t o r s c o n n e c t e d with B o o l e a n l o g i c a l o p e r a t o r s such a s AND, OR, and NOT. 12 Scope of the P a p e r
121 T h e d i s c u s s i o n s a r e l i m i t e d t o c o m p u -t e r i z e d i n f o r m a -t i o n s y s -t e m u s i n g -the -t h e s a u r u s or a c o n t r o l l e d v o c a b u l a r y for input i n d e x i n g and a l s o for q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n i n t e n d e d for o u t -put. As an i l l u s t r a t i o n , the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Nu-c l e a r I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m (INIS) s p o n s o r e d b y the I n t e r n a t i o n a l A t o m i c E n e r g y A g e n c y (IAEA), V i e n n a , i s c o n s i d e r e d . T h e INIS i s a n i n t e r -n a t i o -n a l c o m p u t e r - b a s e d i -n f o r m a t i o -n s y s t e m and u s e s its own t h e s a u r u s for input p r e p a r a
-122 T h e s a m p l e q u e r i e s , the examples and c o m p u t e r p r i n t - o u t s a r e g a t h e r e d from the a u t h o r ' s e x p e r i e n c e , p r a c t i c a l training and va-r i o u s p e va-r s o n a l d i s c u s s i o n s which he had duva-ring h i s o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g at the International Alo-m i c E n e r g y A g e n c y , V i e n n a , and his scienti-fic v i s i t s to v a r i o u s i n f o r m a t i o n centres parti-c i p a t i n g in INIS in E u r o p e , inparti-cluding the Euro-p e a n N u c l e a r D o c u m e n t a t i o n S y s t e m (ENDS], L u x e m b o u r g ; the Z e n t r a l s t e l l e f. Atomkerne-n e r g i e D o k u m e Atomkerne-n t a t i o Atomkerne-n (ZAED), K a r l s r u h e ; La S e r v i c e C e n t r a l d e D o c u m e n t a t i o n , Saclay; the A t o m i c E n e r g y R e s e a r c h Establishment, H a r w e l l e t c .
123 F r e e t e x t s e a r c h , s e a r c h on broad sub-j e c t c a t e g o r i e s of INIS and author search are not c o v e r e d in the p a p e r .
124 U n e s c o ' s definition of ' T h e s a u r u s ' , a l s o a c c e p t e d by INIS, is c o n s i d e r e d . In addi-tion, following d e f i n i t i o n s of the t e r m s are used in the t e x t ( 1 , 2, 3).
A r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t is nothing more or l e s s t h a n a d o c u m e n t t h a t is useful to the reques t e r in r e l a t i o n to t h e i n f o r m a t i o n need that p r o m p t e d h i s r e q u e s t R e l e v a n t means belong-ing to the f i e l d / s u b j e c t / u n i v e r s e of discourse d e l i m i t e d by the t e r m s of the request, as estab-l i s h e d by the c o n s e n s u s of w o r k e r s in that fieestab-ld.
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n and t h e s a u r u s CBZ221
R e l e v a n c e m e a n s b e i n g a p a r t of the paradigm or a c c e p t e d p a t t e r n of thinking in a given field or public knowledge or c o n s e n s u s in a field.
P e r t i n e n c e m e a n s r e l a t e d t o the s p e c i -fic u s e r ' s n e e d s . Adding new i n f o r m a t i o n to the s t o r e a l r e a d y in the m i n d of the u s e r , w h i c h is useful to h i m in the w o r k that p r o m p t e d the request.
H o w e v e r , the e x p l a n a t i o n s given b y Foskett (1), C o o p e r (2) and K e m p {3) a r e a l s o i n t e r e s t i n g .
21
QUERY F O R M U L A T I O N Use r' s Que r y
It is the i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u i r e d by a p a r -ticular u s e r of an i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m . In o t h e r words, it is a q u e s t i o n by an u s e r of an i n f o r -mation s y s t e m . In a b a t c h p r o c e s s i n g s y s t e m , a n i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t i n t e r p r e t s the " u s e r r e q u i r e m e n t s " and " f r a m e s the q u e s t i o n " -may be in a d i f f e r e n t f o r m , - t o the i n f o r m a t i o n system. In an o n - l i n e i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m , the user is n o r m a l l y guided by "a s h o r t t r a i n i n g " in i n f o r m a t i o n of the q u e r y , which is a c h i e v e d by "dialogue with the s y s t e m " and h e n c e , in an o n - l i n e s y s t e m the b u i l t - i n c a p a c i t y of " u s e r guidance" is e s s e n t i a l . H o w e v e r , in the p a p e r , I am c o n s i d e r i n g the b a t c h p r o c e s s i n g only, where the u s e r q u e r y is not put d i r e c t l y to the system, but i n t e r p r e t t e d b y a n i n f o r m a t i o n specialist.
own w o r d s . H e r e , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t o p r o v i d e h i m s o m e guidance t h r o u g h one o r two s a m p l e q u e r i e s , i n d i c a t i n g how to put a q u e r y and how not to put a q u e r y . It h e l p s to get ' s p e c i f i c i t y ' and to avoid a m b i g u i t y in the u s e r q u e r y .
T h e u s e r m a y b e r e q u e s t e d t o i n d i c a t e the p u r p o s e of p u t t i n g the p a r t i c u l a r q u e r y , F o r e x a m p l e :
a) to v e r i f y a fact a l r e a d y known to him b ) t o s u b s t a n t i a t e h i s b i b l i o g r a p h y o r
knowledge
c) to e m b a r k on a new t a s k a s s i g n e d to h i m .
Depending on h i s p u r p o s e of s e a r c h , the q u e r y can b e f r a m e d t o r e t r i e v e ' a f e w ' , ' m o r e ' o r ' c o m p r e h e n s i v e ' b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l r e f e r e n c e s . I n p r i n c i p l e , the q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n s h o u l d l e a d to r e t r i e v a l of a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l n u m b e r of a n s w e r s h a v i n g a high p r o b a b i l i t y of b e i n g p e r -t i n e n -t .
222 I d e n t i f i c a t i o n of c o n c e p t s in the Q u e r y T h e v a r i o u s c o n c e p t s i n the u s e r ' s q u e r y m a y b e c a t a g o r i s e d a s follows : 1 P r e c i s e l y defined c o n c e p t s to be c o n
-s i d e r e d
2 S u p e r f l u o u s c o n c e p t s to be i g n o r e d 3 H i d d e n c o n c e p t s to be d e t e c t e d
4 B a d l y defined c o n c e p t s to be i m p r o v e d . 2221 P r e c i s e l y defined c o n c e p t s to be c o n
-s i d e r e d 22 V a r i o u s S t e p s i n Q u e r y F o r m u l a t i o n
T h e f l o w - c h a r t in F i g 1 i n d i c a t e s the general flow of o p e r a t i o n s in q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n . These a r e : the u s e r q u e r y ; i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of concepts in the q u e r y ; aid of t h e s a u r u s for selecting r i g h t type of d e s c r i p t o r s ; i n c o r p o r a -tion of B o o l e a n l o g i c and f o r m i n g a B o o l e a n expression ; m a t c h i n g ; r e t r i e v i n g ; f e e d - b a c k and i m p r o v e m e n t in the r e t r i e v a l . T h i s is too general a f l o w - c h a r t , but it d o e s h e l p us in identifying d i f f e r e n t s t a g e s in the q u e r y f o r m u lation. E a c h of the s t a g e s n e e d s c l e a r u n d e r -standing,
221 I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f U s e r ' s Q u e r y C l e a r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of the i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s of the u s e r , is e s s e n t i a l . To do this, u s e r m a y b e a s k e d t o u s e a ' r e q u e s t f o r m ' . Appendix 1 g i v e s the r e q u e s t f o r m u s e d by ENDS. L e t the u s e r f r a m e h i s q u e s t i o n i n his
T h e s e a r e c o m p a r a t i v e l y e a s i e r t o i d e n -tify i n the u s e r q u e r y and a l s o m i g h t h a v e b e e n e a s i e r t o index while inputting the d o c u m e n t s . H e n c e , t h e r e is a high p r o b a b i l i t y of finding t h e s e c o n c e p t s in the data b a s e . E x a m p l e s of the p r e c i s e l y defined c o n c e p t s a r e d e s c r i p t o r s u s e d for m a t e r i a l s , s p e c i f i c n a m e s of e q u a t i o n s , p r o c e d u r e s , e q u i p m e n t e t c - A few e x a m p l e s a r e given i n T a b l e 1 .
T a b l e 1. E x a m p l e s of P r e c i s e l y Defined C o n c e p t s i n Q u e r y
C o n c e p t s B r o a d e r N a r r o w e r
D e s c r i p t o r s in INIS T h e s a u r u s E x a m p l e s
E l e m e n t s M e t a l s
HYDROGEN, NITROGEN
CB2221 M A L W A D
U s e r query in his own
words
INIS T h e s a u r u s
Identification of concepts in query
Indexing with addition of synonyms related t e r m s b r o a d e r t e r m s
Query formulation with AND OR NOT
logic
Search p r o c e d u r e
Main Steps in Query Formulation and Iterative Search
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n a n d t h e s a u r u s C B 3 1
M a t e r i a l s
S p e c i f i c N a m e s
I s o t o p e s
C o m p o u n d s
C o m p l e x e s
E l e m e n t a r y P a r t i c l e s
R e a c t o r s E q u a t i o n s
F o r m u l a e P h e n o m e n a
C o n s t a n t s
T h e o r i e s P r o c e s s e s
M o d e l s ( t h e -o r e t i c a l a n d p r a c t i c a l ) R e a c t i o n s
U R A N I U M 2 3 8 , S T R O N T I U M 9 0 I O D I N E 1 3 1 B E R Y L L I U M
C A R B O N A T E S L A N T H A N U M
N I T R A T E S
R A D O N C O M P L E X E S P R O T A C T I N U M
C O M P L E X E S P O S I T R O N S
H A D R O N S N E U T R O N S N U C L E O N S
H A R R I S - 1 R E A C T O R P E R C U S - Y E V I C K
E Q U A T I O N R Y D E B E R G
E O U A T I O N L A N D A U - Z E N E R
F O R M U L A B R A G G R E F L E C
-T I O N
D O P P L E R E F F E C T D O P P L E R
C O E F F I C I E N T L A N D E F A C T O R D O N N A N T H E O R Y H A L E X P R O C E S S L A N D A U D A M P I N G P E R E Y - B U C K
M O D E L
S Z I L A R D C H A L -M E R S R E A C T I O N
c e p t s w h i c h a r e n o t c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i a b l e b u t a r e h i d d e n b e t w e e n t h e l i n e s a s i t w e r e . A s u i t a b l e e x a m p l e o f a q u e r y f r o m E N D S i s s t a t e d b y V e r n i m b (4) a s f o l l o w s :
" F o r a g e e s t i m a t i o n , a l l i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e r a t i o o f a b u n d a n c e o f O s / R e i n m a t e r i a l s i n s i d e t h e s o l a r s y s t e m i s r e q u i r e d . B u t i n f o r m a t i o n d e a l i n g w i t h O s o r R e o n l y i s n o t r e q u i r e d " . F o r c o r r e c t f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e q u e r y , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o k n o w t h a t r h e n i u m 1 8 7 h a s a h a l f -l i f e o f 6 . 1 01 0 y e a r s a n d d e c a y s b y b e t a e m i s
-s i o n i n t o o -s m i u m - 1 8 7 . T h e r a t i o o f a b u n d a n c e o f o s m i u m - 1 8 7 a s c o m p a r e d w i t h r h e n i u m - 1 8 7 , t h o r e f o r c , e n a b l e s t h e c a l c u l a t i o n o f t h e a g e o I m a t e r i a l s c o n t a i n i n g t h e s e t w o e l e m e n t s . T h e
c o n c e p t s R H E N I U M - 1 8 7 a n d O S M I U M - 1 8 7 a r e v e r y i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e r e t r i e v a l t h o u g h t h e y a r e n o t c l e a r l y m e n t i o n e d i n t h e u s e r ' s q u e r y . T h e s e a r e h i d d e n c o n c e p t s , a n d t o i d e n t i f y t h e m , s u b -j e c t k n o w l e d g e i s r e q u i r e d .
2 2 5 B a d l y D e f i n e d C o n c e p t s t o b e I m p r o v e d
T h e u s e r q u e r y m a y c o n t a i n s o m e b a d l y d e f i n e d c o n c e p t s w h i c h , o n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , s h o u l d b e i m p r o v e d . P e r s o n a l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e u s e r
a n d d i s c u s s i o n w i l l h e l p i n c l a r i f y i n g s u c h c o n -c e p t s .
E x a m p l e : A l l i n f o r m a t i o n o n " L e a d p u m p s "
H e r e . i t i s n o t c l e a r w h e t h e r p u m p s m e a n t f o r p u m p i n g l i q u i d l e a d o r p u m p s m a d e o f l e a d f o r p u m p i n g c o r r o s i v e l i q u i d s .
223 S u p e r f l u o u s C o n c e p t s t o b e I g n o r e d
T h e s u p e r f l u o u s c o n c e p t s , i f a n y , i n t h e u s e r q u e r y s h o u l d b e i d e n t i f i e d a n d i g n o r e d . E x a m p l e s :
i " W e l d a b i l i t y o f T S M - 4 m o l y b d e n u m a l l o y a t h i g h t e m p e r a t u r e s a n d a t a n y p r e s s u r e " I n t h i s q u e r y , a s u p e r f l u o u s c o n c e p t i s " p r e s -s u r e " a -s t h e u -s e r -s e e m -s t o b e i n t e r e -s t e d i n the r e f e r e n c e s o f d o c u m e n t s i n w h i c h t h e p r e s s u r e i s h i g h , l o w , o r n o t m e n t i o n e d o r c o n -s i d e r e d a t a l l ,
2 " I o d i n e 131 i n h u m a n a n d a n i m a l l i v e r " . H e r e , t h e s u p e r f l u o u s c o n c e p t s a r e ' m a n ' a n d ' a n i m a l ' b e c a u s e t h e r e i s n o l i v e r w h i c h i s n o t e i t h e r a h u m a n l i v e r o r a n a n i m a l l i v e r .
Z24 H i d d e n C o n c e p t s t o b e I d e n t i f i e d
T h e u s e r q u e r y i s l i k e l y t o c o n t a i n c o n
-3 S E L E C T I O N O F D E S C R I P T O R S
3 1 T h e s a u r u s a n d i t s I n f l u e n c e o n Q u e r y F o r m u l a t i o n
CB31 MALWAD
the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c c o n c e p t s f r o m the u s e r q u e r y into d e s c r i p t o r s , the a b o v e fact should b e c o n -s i d e r e d .
32 F a c t o r s Affecting the S e l e c t i o n of D e s c r i p t o r s
It is e s s e n t i a l to note t h a t t h e r e is a d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n i n d e x i n g a n input d o c u m e n t and i n d e x i n g u s e r ' s q u e r y i n t e n d e d t o r e t r i e v e s o m e output. While i n d e x i n g the u s e r ' s re-q u i r e m e n t s , the following f a c t o r s a r e t o b e noted :
E x a m p l e : COATING AND ZIRCONIUM AND R E A C T O R M A T E R I A L S
D o c u m e n t s h a v i n g all the t h r e e d e s -c r i p t o r s -can only b e r e t r i e v e d . B y c o n n e c t i n g the d e s c r i p t o r s with
B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r OR, the B o o l e a n s u m is o b t a i n e d and the q u e r y tends t o b e m o r e g e n e r a l .
E x a m p l e : SODIUM OR POTASSIUM D o c u m e n t s h a v i n g one of the two des-c r i p t o r s des-can b e r e t r i e v e d .
1 N a t u r e of the i n d e x i n g in input file, t h a t is, the e n t i r e file and not one docu-m e n t ;
2 Which o t h e r t e r m s could h a v e b e e n u s e d for a b s t r a c t i n g and i n d e x i n g ?
3 R e l a t e d c o n c e p t s , w h e r e p o s s i b l y the input file m i g h t h a v e r e l e v a n t docu-m e n t s ;
4 G e n e r a l o r b r o a d e r t e r m s , w h e r e pos-s i b l y the input i n d e x e r m i g h t have indexed d o c u m e n t s , b e c a u s e h e could not l o c a t e o r did not feel t h e n e c e s s i t y of a s p e c i f i c d e s c r i p t o r ;
5 What could h a v e b e e n the l i k e l y indexing e r r o r s ?
6 How a b s t r a c t s (or e v e n p r o b a b l e t i t l e s ) of d o c u m e n t s on the s u b j e c t of the u s e r could have b e e n i n d e x e d (as m a n y a t i m e , input i n d e x e r s a r e led by a b s t r a c t s and t i t l e s ) ?
7 C h a n g e s in indexing r u l e s followed by the i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m ; and 8 Indexing e v e n by u s i n g a t h e s a u r u s a n d
being done by a s u b j e c t s p e c i a l i s t , is a ' h u m a n ' a c t i v i t y and h e n c e an i n d e x e r i s l i k e l y t o a s s i g n d i f f e r e n t d e s c r i p t o r s a t d i f f e r e n t t i m e s for the-s a m e d o c u m e n t .
I N C O R P O R A T I O N O F B O O L E A N LOGIC
3 By c o n n e c t i n g the d e s c r i p t o r s with B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r NOT, w h i c h is a n e g a t i v e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c , the q u e r y b e c o m e s m o r e s p e c i f i c .
E x a m p l e : WHOLESOMENESS AND F O O D NOT M E A T
H o w e v e r , the NOT o p e r a t o r should be u s e d with c a u t i o n . If in one and thy s a m e docu-m e n t the whole s o docu-m e n e s s of food and docu-m e a t a r e d i s c u s s e d , then the d o c u m e n t m a y b e r e l e v a n t to the q u e r y but it will not be r e t r i e v e d if the B o o l e a n e x p r e s s i o n is of the above t y p e . 41 S c h e m a t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n
T h e t h r e e B o o l e a n o p e r a t i o n s a r e sum-m a r i z e d in F i g 2.
A c c o r d i n g t o I N I S / I R M S , the q u e r y f o r -m u l a t i o n i s a c t u a l l y j u s t a f o r -m a l i s -m t o e x p r e s s B o o l e a n o p e r a t i o n s b e t w e e n c l a s s (8) of d e s -c r i p t o r s .
A f t e r the s e l e c t i o n and r e p l a c e m e n t of a d e q u a t e d e s c r i p t o r s , t h e y a r e t o b e c o n n e c t e d u s i n g the B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r s AND, OR and N O T .
1 By c o n n e c t i n g the d e s c r i p t o r s with o p e r a t o r AND, the B o o l e a n p r o d u c t is o b t a i n e d and the q u e r y t e n d s to be m o r e s p e c i f i c .
F i g 2. S c h e m a t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of Boolean Ope r a t i o n s
w h e r e AND OR NOT
a r e B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r s
N is the c l a s s of all the d o c u m e n t s in the data b a s e
A is the c l a s s of d o c u m e n t s i n d e x e d with d e s c r i p t o r A
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n a n d t h e s a u r u s C B 5
A s a m p l e Q u e r y
I n INIS, w h i c h u s e s t h e I B M d e v e l o p e d ( I n f o r m a t i o n R e t r i e v a l M a n a g e m e n t S y s software p a c k a g e f o r r e t r i e v a l , t h e f o l l o w -a s -a s -a m p l e q u e r y -a n d i t s f o r m u l -a t i o n :
query s e n t b y a s c i e n t i s t i s " p r o v i d e m e latest r e f e r e n c e s o n c r o s s s e c t i o n s o f P u 239
Descriptor cards
T i t l e c a r d - 1 0 0 = Q U E R Y : E X P T L S E A R C H N A M E X Y Z
0 1 , O R = E V R A N G E , K E V R A N G E 02, OR = C R O S S S E C T I O N S ,
N U C L E A R R E A C T I O N S 0 3 , O R = P L U T O N I U M - 2 3 9 ,
U R A N I U M 2 3 5 0 4 , O R = F I S S I O N , F I S S I O N P R O
-D U C T S , F I S S I O N N E U T R O N S
99, 1 0 0 = ( 0 1 A D 0 2 A D 0 3 ) A D 0 4
q u e r y c a r d
n u m b e r o f e n t r i e s e x -p e c t e d i n
o u t p u t
B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r
3 T h e r e m a y b e a t m o s t t w o l e v e l s o f n e s t e d p a r a n t h e s i s ; i n v a l i d e x p r e s -s i o n i -s (O1AD(O20R(O3ADO4)})
4 T h e l o g i c a l o p e r a t o r s w h i c h c a n b e u s e d a r e A D , O R , N O . I n v a l i d e x p r e s s i o n i s 0 1 A N D 0 2 .
5 N o t w o l o g i c a l o p e r a t o r s m a y a p p e a r c o n s e c u t i v e l y i n t h e s a m e e x p r e s s i o n ; i n v a l i d e x p r e s s i o n i s O 1 A D N 0 O 2 . 6 A l l d e s i r e d l o g i c a l o p e r a t i o n s m u s t b e
e x p l i c i t : 0 1 0 2 i s a n i n v a l i d e x p r e s s i o n . 7 T h e r e m u s t b e a n e q u a l n u m b e r o f o p e n
a n d c l o s e d p a r a n t h e s i s ; i n v a l i d e x -p r e s s i o n i s ((O1ADO2)0R 03)
8 A g r o u p n u m b e r m a y n o t a p p e a r m o r e t h a n o n c e i n t h e B o o l e a n e x p r e s s i o n ( b u t i t i s p o s s i b l e t o h a v e t h e s a m e s e t o f d e s c r i p t o r s i n d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s ) , i n v a l i d e x p r e s s i o n i s ( 0 1 A D 0 2 ) 0 R ( 0 1 A D 0 3 )
T h e v a l i d e x a m p l e s a r e ;
1. 0 1 A D 0 2 2. (01 0R 02) AD 03 3 . ( ( 0 1 A D 0 2 ) 0 R ( O 3 A D 0 4 ) ) A D O 5 4 . ( 0 1 A D 0 2 ) N 0 0 3
5. O 1 N 0 0 2
E x p l a n a t i o n
T h e q u e r y i s p u n c h e d o n c a r d s .
B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r A N D , O R , a n d N O T a r e a b b r e v i a t e d a s A D , O R a n d N O 0 0 t o 9 9 a r e t h e c a r d n u m b e r s i n t h e s e t
o f c a r d s f o r o n e Q u e r y , w h e r e 0 0 i s u s e d f o r t i t l e c a r d , 9 9 i s u s e d f o r q u e r y c a r d a n d t h e i n b e t w e e n n u m b e r s 0 1 , 0 2 a r e u s e d f o r d e s c r i p t o r s T h e p a r e n t h e s i s i n t h e q u e r y c a r d u s e d
i s r e a l l y n o t e s s e n t i a l , b u t a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s y s t e m p a r a m e t e r s , i t p r o v i d e s a n o u t p u t l i s t , w h i c h i s j u s t l a s t b u t one s t a g e o f t h e e n t i r e o p e r a t i o n s .
4:5 R u l e s f o r C o n s t r u c t i n g B o o l e a n E x p r e s -s i o n
T h e B o o l e a n e x p r e s s i o n i n I N I S i s c o n -structed a c c o r d i n g t o t h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e s :
T h e s i m p l e s t B o o l e a n e x p r e s s i o n c o n s i s -t s o f a p r i m a r y w h i c h m a y b e a s i n g l e g r o u p n u m b e r , o r a n o t h e r e x p r e s s i o n e n c l o s e d i n p a r e n t h e s i s .
M o r e c o m p l i c a t e d e x p r e s s i o n s m a y b e f o r m e d b y l i n k i n g t w o o r m o r e p r i -m a r i e s w i t h t h e s a -m e l o g i c a l o p e r a t o r , f o r e x a m p l e , i n v a l i d e x p r e s s i o n i s
O1ADO20RO3
5 E S T I M A T I O N O F T H E N U M B E R O F A N S W E R S T O A Q U E R Y
V e r n i m b h a s d i s c u s s e d (4) t h e f o l l o w i n g g e n e r a l f o r m u l a w h i c h i s u s e d a t t h e E u r o p e a n N u c l e a r D o c u m e n t a t i o n S y s t e m ( E N D S ) , L u x e m b o u r g :
Rn fl x f2 x fn
1 x K
n - 1
w h e r e R n
f l , f2
K =
= t h e n u m b e r o f e x p e c t e d a n s w e r s t o a q u e r y w i t h ' n ' g r o u p s o f d e s -c r i p t o r s
= t h e n u m b e r o f g r o u p s o f d e s c r i p -t o r s
. . fn = t h e f r e q u e n c i e s at w h i c h d e s c r i p t o r s 1 , 2 n h a d b e e n u s e d w i t h i n t h e
s y s t e m ( f r e q u e n c y o f e a c h d e s c r i p t o r i n t h e I N I S d a t a b a s e i s m e n t i o n e d i n t h e INIS t h e -s a u r u -s )
t h e n u m b e r o f d o c u m e n t s w i t h i n t h e s y s t e m
3 , 5 , a c o n s t a n t w h o s e a v e r a g e v a l u e a t E N D S i s e s t i m a t e d .
CB51 MALWAD
51 E x a m p l e t o e x p l a i n the F o r m u l a INCREASING R E C A L L
L e t u s c o n s i d e r the q u e r y a l r e a d y m e n -t i o n e d in p a r a g r a p h 42 a b o v e . F r o m -the INIS T h e s a u r u s {Rev 8), the f r e q u e n c i e s of the d e s -c r i p t o r s for w h i -c h the n u m b e r of input i t e m s upto INIS A t o m i n d e x Vol 5 No 22 is 128752.
T h e f r e q u e n c i e s c o n s i d e r e d h e r e include the n u m b e r o f t i m e s the d e s c r i p t o r h a s a c t u a l l y b e e n a s s i g n e d b y the input i n d e x e r and the n u m -b e r o f t i m e s the d e s c r i p t o r h a s -b e e n a d d e d -b y the c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m a t INIS h e a d q u a r t e r s .
T a b l e 2
61 B r o a d e n i n g the Q u e r y
D e s c r i p -t o r G r o u p N o .
D e s c r i p t o r F r e -q u e n c y
B o o -l e a n O p e r a -tion
G r o u p F r e -q u e n c y
01
0 2
0 3
0 4
EV RANGE KEV RANGE CROSS S E C T I O N S NUCLEAR
R E A C T I O N S P L U T O N I U M 239 URANIUM 235 FISSION FISSION P R O
-DUCTS FISSION
NEU-TRONS
1437 3270 12386 12143 8 5 9 1000 1720 1867 6 0 8
-0R
0R
0R
0R
4707
24529
1868
4195
T h e B o o l e a n o p e r a t o r O R g i v e s B o o l e a n s u m and h e n c e ,
01, 0R = EV RANGE, KEV RANGE will give f r e q u e n c y (= 1437 + 3270) = 4707 for the d e s c r i p t o r g r o u p 0 1 .
fl = 4 7 0 7 ; f2 = 2 4 5 2 9 ; f3 = 1 8 6 8 ; f4 = 4 1 9 5 ; V = 128752 and K = 3. 5
and s u b s t i t u t i n g the v a l u e s in the f o r m u l a we h a v e
4 7 0 7 x 2 4 5 2 9 x 1 8 6 8 x 4 1 9 5 , , 3 R4 = — X (3. 5)
18. 17
S o m e t i m e s i t i s a d v i s a b l e t o i n c r e a s e the r e c a l l , t h a t i s , the n u m b e r of documents r e t r i e v e d . T h e r e a r e v a r i o u s t e c h n i q u e s to do s o , s u c h as l o o s e n i n g or b r o a d e n i n g the query by
1 a d d i n g m o r e g e n e r a l t e r m s in p l a c e of spe-cific t e r m s
2 d e l e t i n g NOT o p e r a t i o n
3 s k i p p i n g a g r o u p of d e s c r i p t o r s that is not v e r y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c e t c .
62 F l e x i b i l i t y i n the Q u e r y
T h e t h e s a u r u s - b a s e d i n f o r m a t i o n system h a s the a b i l i t y to change the q u e r y formulation in o r d e r to r e t r i e v e m o r e or a few number of d o c u m e n t s as the s i t u a t i o n d e m a n d s . It is a c h i e v e d by m o v i n g up or down the hierarchies of d e s c r i p t o r s , by s u b s t i t u t i n g s y n o n y m s , by adding r e l a t e d d e s c r i p t o r s o r s u c h other techni-q u e s . T h e effect of d e s c r i p t o r s exhaustivity and s p e c i f i c i t y in q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n is illustra-ted as follows :
R a d i a t i o n E f f e c t s (BT) B i o l o g i c a l R a d i a t i o n
E f f e c t s (NT) G e n e t i c R a d i a t i o n
E f f e c t s (NT 1) E x h a u s t i v i t y
Food (BT) F r u i t s (NT) G r a p e s (NT 1)
T h u s , f r o m the 128752 we can e x p e c t only 18 n u m b e r d o c u m e n t s for the q u e r y .
W h e r e , BT = B r o a d T e r m , NT = Narrow Terra and NT 1 = N a r r o w e r T e r m , When the query i s f o r m u l a t e d with s p e c i f i c n a r r o w e r descrip-t o r s :
G E N E T I C RADIATION E F F E C T S AND G R A P E S ,
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n and t h e s a u r u s CB911
7 E V A L U A T I O N OF R E T R I E V A L R E S U L T S
T h e a n s w e r s t o q u e r y a r e l i k e l y t o c o n -tain s o m e i r r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s w h i c h a r e known as " n o i s e " in r e c a l l . In a t h e s a u r u s -b a s e d IR s y s t e m , the n o i s e in r e c a l l is due to the f o l l o w i n g . l i m i t a t i o n s : :
1 R e l a t i o n s h i p i s not i n d e x a b l e . F o r e x a m -p l e , t h e q u e r y i s " G r a -p h i t e c o a t e d w i t h c e r a m i c s " but the d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e v e d m a y c o n t a i n " C e r a m i c s c o a t e d with g r a p h i t e "
2 C o - o c c u r r e n c e of d e s c r i p t o r s w h i c h a r e not c o o r d i n a t e d . F o r e x a m p l e , T h e q u e r y i s , " U r a n i u m a l l o y c a u s e d with a l u m i n i u m a l l o y , " a n d the d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e v e d m a y c o n t a i n U r a n i u m a l u -m i n i u -m a l l o y c a n n e d with z i r c o n i u -m m a g n e s i u m a l l o y .
3 A d e s c r i p t o r m a y be b r o a d e r than a c o n -cept r e a l l y a s k e d for in a q u e r y , F o r e x a m p l e :
A C C I D E N T S is a b r o a d e r d e s c r i p t o r than the c o n c e p t of a c c i d e n t s t h a t h a v e a c t u a l -l y t a k e n p -l a c e .
4 P o o r i n d e x i n g , o v e r - i n d e x i n g , and s h a l l o w i n d e x i n g .
8 DETERMINATION OF R E L E V A N C E
A N D R E C A L L RATIO
T o d e t e r m i n e the r e l e v a n c e a n d r e c a l l ratio for e a c h q u e r y , the i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m i s divided into 4 g r o u p s
a : r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e v e d , c a l l e d h i t s b : r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s not r e l e v a n t to t h i s
q u e r y and not r e t r i e v e d . d = n - (a+b+c)
Then a+b a + c
a l l d o c u m e n t s r e l e v a n t t o the q u e r y c a l l e d q u e r y t a r g e t all d o c u m e n t s o n t h a t q u e r y
c a l l e d q u e r y y i e l d
T h e following r a t i o s can be defined in t e r m s o f q u e r y t a r g e t and q u e r y y i e l d .
a n u m b e r of r e l e v a n t R e c a l l r a t i o =
+ b
P e r t i n e n c e
r a t i o a + c
d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e v e d d i v i d e d by n u m b e r of all r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s i n the s y s t e m .
n u m b e r of r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e v e d d i v i d e d by n u m b e r of all d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e -v e d . S o m e t i m e s c a l l e d p r e c i s i o n
I n the i d e a l r e t r i e v a l c a s e i n w h i c h q u e r y t a r g e t e x a c t l y e q u a l s the q u e r y y i e l d , a + b = a + c i . e . b = c
and given the definition of b and c, t h i s is only p o s s i b l e if b = c = 0.
T h e r e f o r e i t follows t h a t for a n i d e a l c a s e both r e c a l l a n d p e r t i n e n c e r a t i o s e q u a l u n i t y . (7)
T h e r e c a l l r a t i o i s difficult t o d e t e r m i n e with m u c h a c c u r a c y s i n c e the n u m b e r of all re-l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s i n the s y s t e m i s g e n e r a re-l re-l y not known.
91 E V A L U A T I O N OF T H E U S E R ' S C O M M E N T S
9 1 1 F e e d - b a c k
T o i m p r o v e the r e t r i e v a l s e r v i c e s , t h e u s e r m a y b e r e q u e s t e d t o f u r n i s h h i s c o m m e n t s o n the l i t e r a t u r e s e a r c h m a d e for h i m . A s u i t a -ble f e e d - b a c k s t u d y f o r m m a y b e u s e d for s u c h p u r p o s e ( s e e A p p e n d i x 2). T h e s t u d y of the f e e d - b a c k and c o n s e q u e n t i m p r o v e m e n t i n q u e r y i s a l s o known a s i t e r a t i v e s e a r c h .
T h e u s e r m a y b e r e q u e s t e d t o i n d i c a t e the following :
1 W h e t h e r he would l i k e to r e c e i v e m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n ;
2 W h e t h e r t h e r e a r e m i s s i n g p o i n t s i n the s e a r c h ;
3 A r e t h e r e any s u p e r f l u o u s r e f e r e n c e s ; 4 W h e t h e r he would l i k e to c h a n g e or modify
h i s q u e r y ;
5 F r o m the r e f e r e n c e s p r o v i d e d to h i m the r e f e r e n c e s which a r e
i} p e r t i n e n t but a l r e a d y known, ii) p e r t i n e n t and new,
iii) not j u s t p e r t i n e n t but u s e f u l , iv) o u t s i d e s u b j e c t l i m i t s and so of no
i n t e r e s t , and
CB912 MALWAD
912 S e p a r a t i n g R e l e v a n t f r o m I r r e l e v a n t R e f e r e n c e s
p e r f e c t s e p a r a t i o n b e t w e e n r e l e v a n t and i r r e -l e v a n t i t e m s .
O n r e t r i e v a l , b e f o r e s e n d i n g the l i s t t o the u s e r , the i n f o r m a t i o n s c i e n t i s t , s p e c i a l i s e d i n the s u b j e c t field, m a y s c r u t i n i z e the a b s t r a c t s and r e f e r e n c e s t o s e p a r a t e the r e l e v a n t r e f e r e n -c e s f r o m the n o n - r e l e v a n t r e f e r e n -c e s r e t r i e v e d . H o w e v e r , t h i s i s a t i m e - c o n s u m i n g job. H e n c e , i t i s s o m e t i m e s a d v i s a b l e t o r a n k the b i b l i o -g r a p h i c r e f e r e n c e s a c c o r d i n -g t o t h e i r r e l e v a n c e . T h e r a n k i n g t e c h n i q u e a d o p t e d at ENDS is ra-t h e r s i m p l e and h a s p r o v e d ira-ts p r a c ra-t i c a l u ra-t i l i ra-t y . I t i s d e s c r i b e d b e l o w .
913 Ranking T e c h n i q u e A d o p t e d a t ENDS A s m a l l s a m p l e of the r e s u l t s of a q u e r y i s c h e c k e d for r e l e v a n c e . T h e d o c u m e n t s con-s i d e r e d a con-s r e l e v a n t a r e c a l l e d con-s a m p l e h i t con-s (SH), the n o n - r e l e v a n t i t e m s a r e c a l l e d s a m p l e n o i s e (SN).
T h e r e l e v a n c e f e e d b a c k p r o g r a m i d e n -t i f i e s -the d e s c r i p -t o r s a s s i g n e d -t o bo-th S H and S N and c a l c u l a t e s t h e i r w e i g h t s .
a) A p o s i t i v e w e i g h t is the n u m b e r of o c c u r r e n c e s of the d e s c r i p t o r within all SHs divided by the t o t a l n u m b e r of S H s .
b) A n e g a t i v e weight is the n u m b e r of o c c u r r e n c e s of the d e s c r i p t o r within the SNs divided by the t o t a l n u m b e r of S N s .
c) A t o t a l weight is the a l g e b r a i c s u m of the two
D o c u m e n t w e i g h t s a r e then o b t a i n e d b y s u m m i n g the w e i g h t s of the w e i g h t e d d e s c r i p -t o r s for e a c h d o c u m e n -t r e -t r i e v e d b y -the q u e r y . T h e d o c u m e n t s a r e then a r r a n g e d i n d e c r e a s i n g o r d e r of w e i g h t s , with the r e s u l t t h a t the SHs w i l l show up at the top of the r a n k e d l i s t and the SNs at the end.
O b v i o u s l y , s o m e r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s m a y b e e x p e c t e d a m o n g the d o c u m e n t s having a n e g a t i v e d o c u m e n t w e i g h t , but the p r o b a b i l i t y of finding any will d e c r e a s e with d e c r e a s i n g w e i g h t . T h e d e g r e e o f c o m p l e t e n e s s d e s i r e d b y the u s e r will d e t e r m i n e f r o m w h i c h l e v e l the s e a r c h for r e l e v a n t d o c u m e n t s can b e d i s c o n t i -nued which can be c a l l e d a ' c u t - o f f v a l u e of d o c u m e n t w e i g h t .
T h e d o c u m e n t s found r e l e v a n t o r i r r e -l e v a n t down to any one -l e v e -l can a g a i n be fed b a c k t o the c o m p u t e r , which m e a n s t h a t the r e -l e v a n c e f e e d - b a c k r o u t i n e m a y b e u s e d i n s e v e r a -l i t e r a t i o n s i n o r d e r t o a c h i e v e a n i n c r e a s i n g l y
914 I l l u s t r a t i o n of t h e R a n k i n g T e c h n i q u e L e t us c o n s i d e r a h y p o t h e t i c a l q u e r y " R e q u i r e d r e f e r e n c e s on c o r r o s i o n p r o d u c t s of liquid p o t a s s i u m " . On identifying the concepts, l e t the d e s c r i p t o r s i n d i c a t e d i n T a b l e 3 , are a s s i g n e d t o the q u e r y . T h e s a m p l e r e t r i e v a l p r o d u c e d a l i s t of, s a y , 11 r e f e r e n c e s . Out of t h e s e r e f e r e n c e n u m b e r s , 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 w e r e p r o b a b l y thought to be S a m p l e Hit (SH) and the r e f e r e n c e s n u m b e r s 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 w e r e thought t o b e i r r e l e v a n t S a m p l e Noise (SN).
T h e d i f f e r e n t w e i g h t s a r e calculated c o n s i d e r i n g the d e s c r i p t o r CORROSION, as follows :
N u m b e r of o c c u r r e n c e s of the des-P o s i t i v e c r i p t o r within all SHs
weight T o t a l n u m b e r of SHs 4
= £ (See T a b l e 3) = + 0. 66
N u m b e r of o c c u r r e n c e s of the N e g a t i v e d e s c r i p t o r with all SNs welght T o t a l n u m b e r of SNs
= - (See T a b l e 3) 5
= - 0. 2
T o t a l weight being the a l g e b r a i c sum of the two {+ 0. 66 - 0. 2 = + 0. 46) for the des-c r i p t o r CORROSION.
S i m i l a r l y , the d e s c r i p t o r weights can be c a l c u l a t e d for all the d e s c r i p t o r s in the quel
D o c u m e n t w e i g h t s a r e then obtained by s u m m i n g the w e i g h t s of the weighted descrip-t o r s for e a c h d o c u m e n descrip-t r e descrip-t r i e v e d by descrip-the query ( s e e T a b l e 4) and the d o c u m e n t s are arranged a c c o r d i n g to d e c r e a s i n g weights, (see Table 5) T h e r e l e v a n t SHs a r e at the top of the list and the SNs a r e at the b o t t o m of the list.
T h e u s e r m a y he consulted in deciding the ' c u t - o f f ' v a l u e , t h a t i s , after which docu-m e n t weight he is not i n t e r e s t e d in the referen-c e s in the 1ist.
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n a n d t h e s a u r u s C B 9 1 4
T a b l e 3 : D e s c r i p t o r w e i g h t s
Descriptors
CORROSION P R O D U C T S
HJQUID METALS
POTASSIUM
ALKALI METALS
Table 4- Document w e i g h t s
DESCRIPTORS
CORROSION
CORROSION P R O D U C T S
LIQUID METALS
POTASSIUM
ALKALI METALS
Document Weight
1
+ 0 . 46
+0. 03
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 18
SH.
2
- 0 . 1 +0. 03
+ 0. 3
+ 0 . 2 3 3
+0. 46
- 0 . 1 + 0 . 0 3
+0. 3
+ 0. 23 4
+0. 46
+0. 3
+0. 76 ,
+0. 46
+0. 03
+0. 49 6
- 0 . 1 Mi. 03
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 74
SN
7
+0. 0 3
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 64 8
- 0 . 1 + 0. 0:
- 0 . 6"
-0 74 9
- 0 . 1
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 77 10
+ 0 . 0 3
+0. 3
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 44
11
+0. 4
- 0 . 1 +0. 3
- 0 . 6
Q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n a n d t h e s a u r u s C R 9 1 4
Table 3 : D e s c r i p t o r w e i g h t s
D e s c r i p t o r s
CORROSION
CORROSION P R O D U C T S
LIQUID M E T A L S
POTASSIUM
ALKALI M E T A L S
D o c u m e n t s r e l e v a n t
S a m p l e H i t s ( S H )
1
X
X
X 2
X
X
X 3
X
X
X
X 4
X
X 5
X
X
c o n s i d e r e d a s [ i r r e l e v a n t o r
S a m p l e N o i s e (NS)
6
X
X
X 7
X
X
8
X
X
X 9
X
X IP
X
X
X
11
X
X
X
X
W e i g h t s
P o i
+ 0. 66
+ 0. 5
t- 0. 8 3
+ 0. 50
+ 0. 33 N e g
- 0. 2 0
- 0. 6
- 0. 8
- 0. 2
- 1. 0 T o t a l
+ 0. 46
- 0. 1
+ 0. 0 3
+ 0 . 3
- 0. 6 7
T a b l e 4 : . D o c u m e n t w e i g h t s
DESCRIPTORS
CORROSION
CORROSION P R O D U C T S
LIQUID M E T A L S
POTASSIUM
ALKALI M E T A L S
Document W e i g h t
1
+ 0 . 4 6
+ 0 . 0 3
- 0 . 6 7
- 0 . 1 8
SH.
2
- 0 . 1
+ 0 . 0 3
+ 0. 3
+ 0. 2 3 3
+ 0 . 4 6
- 0 . 1
+ 0 . 0 3
+ 0 . 3
+ 0 . 2 3 4
+ 0 . 46
+ 0 . 3
+0 7 6 5
+ 0 . 46
+ 0 . 0 3
+ 0 . 4 9 6
- 0 . 1
+0. 0 3
- 0 . 6 7
- 0 . 7 4
S N s
7
+ 0 . 0 3
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 6 4 8
- 0 . 1
+0.03
- 0 . 6 7
- 0 7 4 9
- 0 . 1
- 0 . 6 7
- 0 . 77 10
+ 0 . 03
+ 0 . 3
- 0 . 67
- 0 . 4 4
11
+0. 46
- 0 . 1
+ 0 . 3
- 0 . 6 7
C B 9 1 4 MALWAD
T a b l e 5. Ranking of the D o c u m e n t s 94 R E F E R E N C E S
D o c u m e n t R a n k
1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9
D o c u m e n t N u m b e r
4 5 2 3 1 11 10 7 6 8 9
D o c u m e n t Weight
+ 0. 76 SH + 0. 49 SH + 0. 23 SH + 0. 23 SH - 0 . 18 SH - 0 . 28 SN - 0 . 44 SN - 0 . 64 SN - 0 . 74 SN - 0 . 74 SN . - 0 . 77 SN
92 CONCLUSIONS
1 F o r q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n , t h e s a u r u s s e r v e s as an i m p o r t a n t tool ,
2 T h e flexible and d y n a m i c n a t u r e of t h e s a u -r u s is an influencing f a c t o -r in q u e -r y fo-r- form u l a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n q u e r i e s l e a d -ing t o r e t r o s p e c t i v e s e a r c h e s .
3 U s e r f e e d - b a c k h e l p s t o i m p r o v e q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n and c o n s e q u e n t l y the r e t r i e -v a l e f f i c i e n c y of an IR s y s t e m .
4 B e f o r e d i s t r i b u t i n g to the u s e r , the output l i s t o f d o c u m e n t s r e t r i e v e d i n r e s p o n s e t o h i s q u e r y , the d o c u m e n t s c a n b e r a n k e d , i n c o r p o r a t i n g a few c a l c u l a t i o n s i n the s y s t e m . T h e r a n k i n g i s helpful to the u s e r .
5 U s e r s a t i s f a c t i o n for the output r e t r i e v e d a g a i n s t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u e s t , should be the u l t i m a t e o b j e c t i v e of the q u e r y f o r m u l a t i o n .
93 A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T
I am i n d e b t e d to all the p e r s o n s with whom I had the c h a n c e to w o r k with and d i s c u s s d u r i n g h i s o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g a t IAEA and s c i e n t i f i c v i s i t s i n E u r o p e . I a m a l s o g r a t e f u l to Dr V A K a m a t h , H e a d , L i b r a r y & I n f o r m a -tion S e r v i c e s , BARC, for his g u i d a n c e in the p r e p a r a t i o n of the p a p e r , and to Dr P K
I y e n g a r , C h a i r m a n , L i b r a r y C o m m i t t e e , BARC, for h i s kind p e r m i s s i o n to s u b m i t the p a p e r to the S e m i n a r o n ' T h e s a u r u s i n I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s ' .
10
F O S K E T T (D J ) . Note on the concepts of r e l e v a n c e . ( I n f o r m a t i o n S t o r a g e and R e t r i e v a l , 8 ; 1 9 7 2 ; 77-8)
C O O P E R (W S). Definition of relevance for i n f o r m a t i o n r e t r i e v a l . (Informa-t i o n S (Informa-t o r a g e and R e (Informa-t r i e v a l . 7 ; 1971; 19-38).
K E M P (D A). R e l e v a n c e , p e r t i n e n c e and i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m development. ( I n f o r m a t i o n S t o r a g e and R e t r i e v a l 10 ; 1 9 7 4 ; 3 7 - 4 7 ) .
VERNIMB (C). A u t o m a t e d d o c u m e n t r e t r i e v a l : l e c t u r e s for the i n t e r n a -t i o n a l s e m i n a r on da-ta b a n k s , infor-m a t i o n r e t r i e v a l o r g a n i z e d b y FAST
- F e d e r a t i o n of S c i e n t i f i c and Tech-n i c a l A s s o c i a t i o Tech-n s , M i l a Tech-n , 8-27 Oct
1973.
I N T E R N A T I O N A L ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. 1NIS: T h e s a u r u s Rev. 9. V i e n n a , IAEA, 1975. (IAEA-INIS-13 (Rev. 9))
I N T E R N A T I O N A L ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. I N I S; D e s c r i p t i o n of
c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m m e s . R e v . 1 . Vienna, IAEA, 1975. (IAEA-INIS-14 (Rev. 1)).
I N T E R N A T I O N A L ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. INIS : M a n u a l for indexing. (Rev 2). Vienna, IAEA, 1974.
( I A E A - I N I S - 1 2 {Rev 2)).
DEL BIGIO (G). I N I S / I R M S U s e r s m a n u a l . V i e n n a , IAEA, 1972. N E E L A M E G H A N (A). S p e c i f i c a t i o n s of
s u b j e c t o f r e a d e r s q u e r y ; R e a d e r c o m p u t e r d i a l o g u e . (Lib. S c . 9 ; 1 972; 6 0 0 - 5 6 ) .
