Design of an Interface to an Information Retrieval Network (Access Costs, Relevance, Bibliographic Databases)

192 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984.The use of computers for information retrieval has brought about a growth of databases (bibliographic, in particular) as well as an increase in the number of search service centers (SSCs) that make the databases accessible online. Although this has facilitated information searching, the uninitiated user as well as the trained search intermediary are beset with obstacles--disparity in the systems and databases and a dilemma as to the 'proper' choice among several databases and SSCs available. This thesis proposes an interface to these SSCs and databases to make the variabilities transparent to the user--an Automatic IRC.The Automatic IRC, aimed to be a full-service information center, provides the following services for the user: (a) assistance in the formulation of the query; (b) assistance in the choice of relevant databases and location of SSC(s) that make the database(s) accessible at a low cost; (c) automatic dial-up and log-on to the SSCs and the databases; (d) translation of the user query into a format that can be processed by the SSC retrieval system; (e) post-processing of bibliographic citations from online searches (i.e., sorting, merging, eliminating duplicate citations and 'finishing' the output); and (f) location, ordering and delivery of documents. In the choice of the databases to search, this thesis considers two criteria: relevance and cost. Accordingly, appropriate formulas are developed to compute the relevance index of a database with respect to terms in the query and with respect to the entire query, and to compute the cost to access the database(s) from the commercial SSC(s). Hardware and software requirements of the Automatic IRC as well as its implementation using a microcomputer-based system are considered. Finally, several areas for further research are pointed out.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD