Journal article
Comparing Retrieval Performance in Online Data Bases
Information processing & management, v 23(6), pp 539-553
01 Jan 1987
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
A systematic comparison of retrievals on 11 topics across 5 well-known databases used MEDLINE's subject indexing as a focus. Every topic was posed by a researcher in the medical behavioral sciences. Searches on every topic were made with: 1. descriptors, 2. cited references, and 3. natural language capability. The researchers who posed the topics also evaluated the results. In each case, the set of records judged relevant was employed to calculate recall, precision, and novelty ratios. Overall, MEDLINE had the greatest recall percentage, followed by SOCIAL SCISEARCH. While all of the searches resulted in high precision ratios, novelty ratios of databases and searches differed widely. An analysis was performed to analyze possible faults in MEDLINE subject indexing, due to a failure to retrieve (via descriptors) some 445 documents judged relevant. Documents not found in MEDLINE mainly represent failures of coverage -- articles were from nonindexed or selectively indexed journals.
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Details
- Title
- Comparing Retrieval Performance in Online Data Bases
- Creators
- Katherine McCain - Drexel UniversityHoward White - Drexel UniversityBelver Griffith - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Information processing & management, v 23(6), pp 539-553
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science Ltd
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- [Retired Faculty]
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:A1987L066200003
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-0023600478
- Other Identifier
- 991019173850504721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Computer Science, Information Systems
- Information Science & Library Science