1. Report on the evaluation of an experimental computer-based current-awareness service for chemists
- Author
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Frances H. Barker, Barry K. Wyatt, and Douglas C. Veal
- Subjects
Service (business) ,Selective dissemination of information ,Government ,Information retrieval ,Computer science ,General Engineering ,Information system ,Subject (documents) ,Sample (statistics) ,Precision and recall ,Data science ,Natural language - Abstract
A selected sample of U.K. University, industrial and Government scientists were given a current-awareness service for 18 months, in order to investigate the practicability and problems of such a service. Six hundred profiles were run, using the natural-language data bases Chemical Titles and Chemical-Biological Activities produced by Chemical Abstracts Service. Precision and recall were measured, and correlations between profile performance and such factors as subject area and profile logic were investigated statistically. Precision and recall failures were analysed and various improvements to the system were suggested as a consequence. It was concluded that a viable computerised current-awareness service based on searching natural language could be created.
- Published
- 1972
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