Bert R. Boyce

Authorship as a Measure of the Productivity of Schools of Library and Information Science

Rankings of schools of library and information science (LIS) by various measures of author productivity are consistent. The presence of a doctoral program, of an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) library, and the fact that a school exists in a Carnegie I research university all are related to a high author-productivity ranking. The presence of a certificate program is not. The faculty designated as full-time in fifty-seven schools listed in the 1992-93 Journal of Education for Library and Information Science directory issue were searched online in the Library Literature database on Wilsonline. The search results included the sum of the postings in Library Literature for each of the full-time faculty in a school, total authorships (excluding book reviews) for the school, the number of book reviews produced by the school, and the count of the union of the posting sets for each of the full-time faculty reflecting the number of unique items credited to authors in the school. Each of these counts was also normalized by the number of full-time faculty. The measures utilized reflect a limited time period, do not account for publication outside traditional library literature, and are but one of several suggested quantitative indications of school productivity.

Entry Point Depth and Online Search Using a Controlled Vocabulary.

The depth of indexing, the number of terms assigned on average to each document in a retrieval system as entry points, has a significant effect on the standard retrieval performance measures in modern commercial retrieval systems, just as it did in previous experimental work. Tests of the effect of basic index search, as opposed to controlled vocabulary search, in these real systems are quite different than traditional comparisons of free text searching with controlled vocabulary searching. In modern commercial systems the controlled vocabulary serves as a precision device, since the structure of the default for unqualified search terms in these systems requires that it do so.

Measurement of subject scatter in the superintendent of documents classification

Abstract The hypothesis that the amount of dispersion of documents occurring when a collection is reclassified from the Superintendent of Documents Classification (SuDoc) to the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is insignificant is not supported. This suggests that the SuDoc scheme is inappropriate for topical questions. The rank order statistics show no relationship between the document orderings produced by the two schemes, and in no case did an examined SuDoc class contain less than 48 percent of the LCC main classes. Library of Congress MARC records containing SuDocs numbers for the Department of the Army, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of State, the Library of Congress, and a broad general sample were sorted by both schemes and the resulting orders compared. A new measure, normalized average minimum document movement was proposed and computed, as were existing measures of dispersion resulting from reclassification.

The Evaluation of a Drill and Practice Program for Online Retrieval.

The DAPPOR software, a drill and practice program for learning the command languages of major vendors of bibliographic data bases was tested in a classroom environment at two library schools. Statistically significant positive learning differences were observed with DAPPOR use, particularly with the DIALOG language. With the exception of undergraduate GPA in the case of DIALOG, demographic variables were not significant. Successful DAPPOR interaction does not require actual keyboarding; participation in intellectual formulation of the answers is sufficient. Cost was considerably lower than the use of vendors systems at educational rates and user response was generally positive.

A sort procedure for the superintendent of documents classification

Abstract This article describes a procedure for creating sort keys for sorting items with the notation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification Scheme. The algorithm was successfully tested on five small files of SuDoc numbers. Because there is no clear agreement on the rule system to be followed for the filing of items by SuDoc numbers, the article provides a basis for discussion.

A drill and practice program for online retrieval

DAPPOR, a drill and practice program for online retrieval provides reinforcement to students engaged in learning the basic command protocols of the major vendors of bibliographic databases. The DAPPOR evaluation program overcomes the difficult problems of determining the correctness of a user response in a highly flexible environment. The coding of answer definitions and the process of recursive reduction used by the evaluation program are described.

A Brief Investigation of U.S. Superintendent of Documents Filing Practice.

Abstract An automated program to produce a shelf list of Superintendent of Documents Classification arranged publications by sorting them on the components of their SuDoc numbers will best serve its users by providing a choice of the four most common filing options in use. Beyond the level of the stem, little consistency exists in the actual filing rules by which SuDoc classified shelves are arranged in depository libraries. While this inconsistency has minimal effect on the gross arrangement of shelves, the programming of an automated sorting algorithm to produce SuDoc organized shelf lists requires a knowledge of the filing procedures actually in use. A survey of 139 depository libraries concerning their SuDoc filing procedures produced 87 usable responses, for a return rate of 63 percent. Thirty-nine percent, or 34, file all numbers before all letters with some variation on the second level. Forty-eight percent, or 42, file all letters before numbers with small variations on the second level. The remaining 13 percent, or 11, utilize a mixed filing system, making use of an order based upon the components of the notation rather than their alphabetic or numeric characteristics. The Depository Library Systems Committee of the Depository Library Council (DLC) suggests a particular mixed order of this sort, but only one surveyed library followed this order.

Estimating effective display size in online retrieval systems

Abstract This article outlines a problem in commercial online retrieval systems, provides a review of the relevant literature, and presents a solution for a special case of the problem. Previous investigators have considered how to best determine, for a ranked list of records retrieved from an online retrieval system, whether or not the user should continue to display the output. This article examines the problem of how effective display size can be estimated as a means of assisting the users of commercial online retrieval systems. Although no experimental results are as yet available, the approach presented here will provide a guide to and prolegomenon for systematic study of the problem, as well as a method for providing the estimated number of relevant records remaining in a retrieved set ranked by a retrieval status value.

Determining online retrieval system display size

This paper outlines a problem in commercial online retrieval systems, provides a review of the relevant literature, and presents a solution for a special case of the problem. Previous investigators have considered how to best determine, for a ranked list of records retrieved from an online retrieval system, whether or not the user should continue to display the output. This paper examines the problem of how effective display size can be estimated as a means of assisting the users of commercial online retrieval systems. Although no experimental results are as yet available, the approach presented here will provide a guide to and prolegomenon for systematic study of the problem, as well as a method for providing the estimated number of relevant records remaining in a retrieved set ranked by a retrieval status value.

Vocabulary control for information retrieval

If you really want to be smarter, reading can be one of the lots ways to evoke and realize. Many people who like reading will have more knowledge and experiences. Reading can be a way to gain information from economics, politics, science, fiction, literature, religion, and many others. As one of the part of book categories, vocabulary control for information retrieval always becomes the most wanted book. Many people are absolutely searching for this book. It means that many love to read this kind of book.