Subject Directories Research Articles

Assessing electronic resource searching competency among postgraduate students

Purpose This study evaluated electronic resource searching competency among postgraduate students (PGS). Specifically, the study intended to identify online search strategies used by PGS in searching electronic resources, examine the mechanisms used by PGS to access electronic resources and identify the challenges faced by PGS when searching electronic resources. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was administered to 70 PGS who attended a training workshop on scholarly literature searching. A pre- and post-training assessment was carried out to establish their competence prior to and after the training. Findings The results show that during the preassessment, the majority of respondents indicated Google search and Google Scholar search engines were their primary sources of scholarly literature, and the majority used simple search strategies to locate scholarly literature. The results further show that, before the training, it was revealed that 50.5% of the PGS had never used subscribed databases such as EBSCOhost, Emeralds, Taylor and Francis, Wiley online library and Springer. After the post-training assessment, results indicated an increased level of using new techniques such as Boolean operation, phrase searches, truncations, search limit and subject directories. Access through local IP addresses was highly used compared to other mechanisms such as remote access authentication methods or discovery services. Students’ exposure to new strategies and search tools had significant improvement in searching scholarly literature. Originality/value This paper is the researcher’s original study and it has not been conducted before. The paper represents a true analysis of the search capability of postgraduates in areas of research.

An Optimization Analysis of the Subject Directory System on the MedlinePlus Portal – An Investigation of Children Related Health Topics

In this study, a mixed-methods research approach was employed, integrating social network analysis, descriptive analysis, and inferential statistical analysis to examine the health topic subject directories and the interconnections among health topics within the subject directory system of the MedlinePlus portal. One hundred and fifty-nine health topics related to children’s health as well as 1457 qualified keywords were collected and analyzed. As a result, 184 new connections (140 bidirectional and 44 unidirectional) were proposed to be added to the original subject directory on MedlinePlus. Five new core topics were identified as influential topics in the subject network. This new optimized structural network was proved to be significantly improved from the original one and the importance of the newly identified core topics were verified. The evaluations also included participants containing both medical professionals (2) and medical students (31). The user evaluation results confirmed that the recommendations suggested by this study are solid and effective. The findings of this research would improve the information searching effectiveness for the portal users and offer insights to public health portal creators.

Social network analysis of the mental health sub-topic on the MedlinePlus subject directory

Introduction. A subject directory plays an important role in a Web portal and it helps users effectively navigate the portal. This study examines a subject directory system related to Mental Health in the MedlinePlus portal and provides suggestions of optimisation to enhance the subject directory system. Method. A mixed research method combining social network analysis and inferential statistics was applied. Analysis. A structural and a semantic social network were built regarding the selected health topics related to mental health in the MedlinePlus portal. The two networks were compared and the outcomes were evaluated by domain experts. Results. Among the ninety-nine collected health topics related to mental health, three themes were identified through the visualisation analysis regarding grouped health topics. Patterns and characteristics of each theme group were discussed. As a result, fifty-five bidirectional and twenty-three unidirectional edges were identified and recommended to be added to the corresponding health topic pages. The recommended results indicate that the subject directory of specific mental health related topics is well constructed, while health consumer groups related topics might need more improvements. The optimised subject directory has significantly stronger semantic connection, and the results of the recommendations are consistent with the evaluation outcome of two domain experts. Conclusions. The findings of this study can provide ideas of optimising and enhancing the subject directory system to the public health portal creators and health professionals, and benefit health consumers for seeking health information online. The methodologies applied in this study may provide a novel way to investigate and enhance subject directories in general.

INFORMATION RESEARCH RESOURCES OF THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SPHERE ON THE INTERNET

The purpose of the research is to analyze the information resources of the Internet and their division into the categories to ensure further use in the study of phenomena of historical and cultural sphere. The methods of the research are based on the application of general scientific and special methods of cognition, in particular, analysis and synthesis, historical-comparative, retrospective, comparative, terminological analysis and analytical monitoring of global information services. The scientific novelty of the paper lies in the analysis of the Internet information resources for the documentation of historical and historical-cultural processes in Ukraine and in the world. It has made it possible to state that the Internet, as a new information environment, where the main directions of development of domestic resources are being worked out, should become a modern source base for the researchers in the humanitarian field. Conclusions. As a result of the study, it has been proved that the Internet has become a real informational environment for studying the phenomena of cultural history. It has been emphasized that the state of resources from national history and cultural history requires serious analysis and should become a full-value source for scientists. Information resources of the Internet are a convenient environment for representing and generating relevant documents. It has been proved that it is the most convenient to consider the whole complex of information resources not only depending on the form of presentation of historical material on the Internet, but also from the stage of research. With each stage of the research (collection of information on the topic, working with sources and literature, analysis of materials and testing of results), the types of resources involved have been correlated. It has been revealed that among the documentation services, Wikipedia plays a key role today. The influence and significance of Wikipedia on social processes in the field of history and cultural history have been evaluated in the paper. The emphasis has been placed on the fact that archival resources on the Internet are gaining special importance today, and especially their forms such as databases with a search engine, electronic directories of various genres and types - guides, fund and subject directories, etc., and digital images of documents.

A new similarity measure for subject hierarchical structures

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new similarity method to gauge the differences between two subject hierarchical structures.Design/methodology/approach– In the proposed similarity measure, nodes on two hierarchical structures are projected onto a two-dimensional space, respectively, and both structural similarity and subject similarity of nodes are considered in the similarity between the two hierarchical structures. The extent to which the structural similarity impacts on the similarity can be controlled by adjusting a parameter. An experiment was conducted to evaluate soundness of the measure. Eight experts whose research interests were information retrieval and information organization participated in the study. Results from the new measure were compared with results from the experts.Findings– The evaluation shows strong correlations between the results from the new method and the results from the experts. It suggests that the similarity method achieved satisfactory results.Practical implications– Hierarchical structures that are found in subject directories, taxonomies, classification systems, and other classificatory structures play an extremely important role in information organization and information representation. Measuring the similarity between two subject hierarchical structures allows an accurate overarching understanding of the degree to which the two hierarchical structures are similar.Originality/value– Both structural similarity and subject similarity of nodes were considered in the proposed similarity method, and the extent to which the structural similarity impacts on the similarity can be adjusted. In addition, a new evaluation method for a hierarchical structure similarity was presented.

국내 인터넷 서점의 건강 분야 분류체계 개선 방안에 관한 연구

본 연구는 인터넷 서점의 건강분야 분류체계의 개선방안으로 이를 위해 국내․외 8곳의 인터넷 서점의 건강분야 분류체계 현황을 비교분석하고, KDC, DDC의 해당 주제 분류항목과 비교 분석하였다. 그리고 인터넷 서점의 건강분야 분류체계의 이용에 대한 이용자 면담을 진행하였다. 그 결과를 바탕으로 설계원칙을 수립하고, 인터넷 서점의 건강분야 분류체계 설계안을 개발한 후, 실무자와 전문가 평가를 받아서 건강이란 대분류 아래 11개의 중분류 항목과 60개의 소분류 항목, 16개의 세분류 항목으로 제시하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 인터넷 서점은 물론 웹상에서 건강 관련 정보를 효율적으로 분류하는 기반이 될 것이다.

Visualization relevance analysis for weight control‐related subjects

AbstractThe component plane analysis method in conjunction with the SOM method was used to investigate relevance among one group of health subjects. A transaction log from a public health portal was employed for the study. The subjects from a health subject directory in the portal were extracted and the traversal activities among these subjects were analyzed. The focus theme ‘weight control’ was selected and the related subjects to weight control were analyzed in the visual contexts of the subject component planes. The findings of this study can be used to optimize the health subject directories, and understand users' medical information seeking behavior.

Tagging and searching: Search retrieval effectiveness of folksonomies on the World Wide Web

Many Web sites have begun allowing users to submit items to a collection and tag them with keywords. The folksonomies built from these tags are an interesting topic that has seen little empirical research. This study compared the search information retrieval (IR) performance of folksonomies from social bookmarking Web sites against search engines and subject directories. Thirty-four participants created 103 queries for various information needs. Results from each IR system were collected and participants judged relevance. Folksonomy search results overlapped with those from the other systems, and documents found by both search engines and folksonomies were significantly more likely to be judged relevant than those returned by any single IR system type. The search engines in the study had the highest precision and recall, but the folksonomies fared surprisingly well. Del.icio.us was statistically indistinguishable from the directories in many cases. Overall the directories were more precise than the folksonomies but they had similar recall scores. Better query handling may enhance folksonomy IR performance further. The folksonomies studied were promising, and may be able to improve Web search performance.

Internet Reference Sources for Asian Studies

ABSTRACT This essay discusses Internet reference works for Asian Studies. Internet reference works are difficult to delimit, since the new formats and functions of the Internet have created new genres. Subject guides and directories do not qualify as reference sources, but the characterization of other forms of information on the Internet is still vague. The standards for evaluating Internet sources are also still in flux. Nonetheless, using a rule of thumb definition, a select number of Internet resources for Asian Studies are reviewed.

Yahoo! Do You Google? Virtual Reference Overview

The Internet is fast becoming the world's largest public li brary. Reference librarians are using Web resources rather than print to an swer many reference queries. This article provides an overview of topics relating to virtual reference services: search engines, subject directories, virtual reference desks, the invisible Web, electronic journal publishing, virtual reference services, and reference librarian skills.

Art on the Net

Researchers in the fields of art and architecture can now find a wealth of information to complement traditional print resources in the humanities. The evolution of visual imagery technology on the Internet and the gradual development of a controlled vocabulary, namely the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, have made this possible. This article highlights some of the best resources for art and architecture, from subject directories and periodical indexes to image sites and auction information. Scholars researching art and architecture on the Internet will find these resources useful.

Classification Practice and Implications for Subject Directories of the Chinese Language Web-Based Digital Library

ABSTRACT The availability of an increasingly large number of Chinese language resources in cyberspace underpins the foundation for a global digital library. This study presents a methodology to investigate the classification practice of this digital library by examining more than one hundred Chinese language subject directories. The findings show that the construction of these subject directories does not follow established classification systems that are widely employed in the traditional library cataloging of the Chinese-speaking world. Numerous top-level subject headings have emerged in subject directories due to the lack of uniform subject heading control. However, each subject directory usually entertains 12 to 16 subject categories. Pareto's rule, or the 20/80 rule, may govern the access to the resources of this digital library.

Some benchmark searches for testing search capabilities and medical coverage of internet discovery tools.

The past few years have seen a proliferation of search engines for the World Wide Web (WWW), as well as a growing number of specialized subject directories geared to the needs of health care professionals. Yet documentation on scope, coverage, and search features is often uneven at best; and even documented search features may not perform as advertised. This paper will present a group of sample searches to assist users in gauging database size, determining default search operators, and testing for the presence of advanced search features such as case sensitivity, stemming, and concept mapping for medical topics on English-language web sites.

A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the major characteristics of the emerging Chinese language virtual library and its supporting search engines

An emerging, globally Web‐based Chinese language virtual library offers unprecedented content availability and user accessibility. Virtual and physical libraries are defined, and compared, in terms of bibliographical searching. Then, the size of the Chinese language virtual library is estimated and its future development is predicted. The quantitative analysis concentrates on the content of this virtual library through examining the subject directories of more than 100 of its search engines. The findings show that 20 percent of the subject categories provide 80 percent of online access activities. Many subject categories characterise values of the Chinese‐speaking world. Discussion continues with structural and functional analyses of Chinese language search engines that support this virtual library. Further, an analytic overview is presented of Chinese language applications that render the necessary and sufficient computational linguistic conditions for utilising Chinese language online resources.

Access to electronic commerce sites on the World Wide Web: an analysis of the effectiveness of six Internet search engines

The success of electronic commerce (e-commerce) sites that cater to online shopping is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the quality, variety and price of their products, their guarantees, return policies, etc. The success of these sites is predicated upon the more basic assumption that consumers can actually find the sites on the World Wide Web. A major advantage of online shopping is that it enables consumers to engage in comparison shopping with an ease that cannot be replicated easily in the physical world. This paper examines the ways in which six Internet search engines facilitate access to online shopping sites via their hierarchical subject directories. Specifically, the paper examines the internal structure, consistency and orientation of the six subject directories. The findings indicate that the search directories (i) use ambiguous and sometimes misleading categories to organize e-commerce sites, (ii) are only moderately consistent in the way they organize e-commerce sites and (iii) provide relatively few opportunities for comparison shopping.

Health care resources on the Internet: a guide for librarians and health care consumers

Health care resources on the Internet: a guide for librarians and health care consumers

Access to electronic commerce sites on the World Wide Web: an analysis of the effectiveness of six Internet search engines

The success of electronic commerce (e-commerce) sites that cater to online shopping is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the quality, variety and price of their products, their guarantees, return policies, etc. The success of these sites is predicated upon the more basic assumption that consumers can actually find the sites on the World Wide Web. A major advantage of online shopping is that it enables consumers to engage in comparison shopping with an ease that cannot be replicated easily in the physical world. This paper examines the ways in which six Internet search engines facilitate access to online shopping sites via their hierarchical subject directories. Specifically, the paper examines the internal structure, consistency and orientation of the six subject directories. The findings indicate that the search directories (i) use ambiguous and sometimes misleading categories to organize e-commerce sites, (ii) are only moderately consistent in the way they organize e-commerce sites and (iii) provide relatively few opportunities for comparison shopping.

Structural and Multilingual Approaches to Subject Access on the Web

As Web resources multiply at a breathtaking rate, there has been a renewed interest in using subject categorization or hierarchical structures to organize directories for more efficient knowledge discovery and retrieval. Such uses include directories based on existing classification schemes, subject hierarchies used by popular Web directories and search engines, and various classificatory structures used by many libraries to organize Web resources selected for local access for their users. To serve multilingual and multicultural populations all over the world, many search engines on the Web have also developed new services including regional editions, search by language/region features, translation of search query or Web pages, etc. This paper provides an overview of the approaches used by major search engines to ensure both compatibility and localization of the regional subject directories. It also includes an analysis of the impact of society and culture on the setup of subject directories such as the order of subject categories, adjustment of hierarchical relationships, and the display interface. There are also efforts in using hierarchical structures to organize Web sites on specific topics or for specific purposes and even for individual users. As an example of the last category, we will present a discussion of a device called Knowledge Class for personalized knowledge organization and access to Web resources.

Book Review

R. Kiley Medical information on the Internet: a guide for health professionals . Edinburgh : Chuchill Livingstone , 1999 . ISBN 0-443-06194-7 . Second edition , 160 pp., £18.95. R. KILEY. Edinburgh: Chuchill Livingstone, 1999. ISBN 0-443-06194-7. Second edition, 160 pp., £18.95. The second edition of this book aims for a similar audience to the first. It is written for health professionals who want to learn about the Internet and access the vast array of medical information available somewhere ‘out there’. The first couple of chapters explain what the Internet is and how to get connected. Search engines and evaluated subject directories have a chapter including worked examples. Kiley has retained his top 10 medical resources and states the selection criteria. There are two new chapters on the quality of medical information on the Internet and consumer health information. Interactive learning resources and e-mail communication are also covered. All of the chapters in this second edition have been revised and updated. New screen shots of Websites illustrate resources mentioned. The CD contains the entire text, viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software included on the disk. An accompanying Website publishes updates to the book. The strength of this title is in its practical approach to the Internet. It is easily possible to get bogged down in detail when introducing newcomers to Internet services, Bruce McKenzie’s book Medicine and the Internet being an example. Kiley avoids this by providing the reader with just enough information on the topic before moving on to cover new ground. No mysticism hangs around the technical terms, each is explained in the glossary as soon as it is introduced. This is a book that will be dipped into by readers. To aid this, each chapter displays its objectives inside a box at the start. The accompanying CD version also makes it easy to find places in the text and jump between chapters to the glossary and back. It was also easy to install. It is nearly 2 years since the text was written. This is nowhere more apparent than in chapter two, where Kiley discusses getting connected to the Internet. Mentioning prices of Internet Service Providers hardly seems worth the effort. The Website has a useful role here, because it updates information in the book on free Internet providers such as Freeserve. Kiley acknowledges that this book can only provide a snapshot of the Internet. There are a few places where the addition of just a little more information would have been useful. For example the discussion of viruses in chapter six, where mention could be made of the excellent (and free) antivirus software FPROT. That said, an improvement on the first edition is the inclusion of ‘accessed dates’ for URLs at the end of chapters. The Website supplementing the book and CD includes outlines of chapters and selected links. There is also a ‘what’s new’ page that was last updated in October 1999. It would be a shame if entries to this section had stopped, as it provides a useful month by month digest of important developments. For example: medical journals on the web, Primary Care Groups, Evidence-based Practice on the Internet and the medline Plus service. The review of the previous edition commented on the US bias of the 10 resources singled out by Kiley and expressed hope that an NHS-wide network might improve the balance in a later edition. Four of the initial top 10 have retained their place in this Hall of Fame and again only one resource, the TRIP database this time, is UK-based. It must be a sign that the publishing world moves faster than technological change in the NHS.

Recursos de información y documentación deportiva en Internet.

The article studies sport information resources on the Internet: the use of search engines to find web sites and how to evaluate web pages according to their information value. It also provides a list of major portals and subject directories and of the main academic and association web sites on sport, as well as lists of group news and information on how to subscribe.