FIS 1325 Online Information Retrieval

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FIS 1325Online Information Retrieval

• Winter, 2008
• Sections 0103 and 0104
• Mike McCaffrey
• Faculty of Information Science
• University of Toronto

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Lecture 1

• January 8th, 2008 (Section 0103)
• January 10th, 2008 (Section 0104)

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Outline

• Introductions and Attendance
• Course Basics
• Database Basics
• Questions

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Introductions and Attendance

• You
• Me.

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(No Transcript)
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Course Basics

• Objectives
• Delivery
• Mechanics
• Evaluation

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Course Objectives

• To acquaint students with online information
  retrieval.
• To develop in students searching skills to the
  level of beginning searchers.
• To provide an understanding of such issues in
  search service management as planning, promotion,
  costs and evaluation.
• To emphasize the importance of understanding and
  satisfying user information needs in online
  searching.

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Course Delivery

• Lectures
• Demonstrations/Labs
• Seminar Presentations
• Readings

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Course Mechanics

• Course Web Space (http//people.fis.utoronto.ca/mc
  caffre/1325/index.html)
• Course Blog (http//fis1325.blogspot.com/)
• Computers

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Course Evaluation

• Dialog Search Exercise (30)
• Cross Resource Search Exercise (30)
• Web Search Engine Comparison (10)
• Online Searching Applications (30)

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Break Time
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Database Basics

• Definitions
• Key Characteristics
• Types

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Definitions

• Datum (pl. data) a thing made the basis of
  reasoning or calculation A fact
• Data. The plural of the Latin word datum, often
  used as a singular collective noun. Facts,
  figures, or instructions presented in a form that
  can be comprehended, interpreted, and
  communicated by a human being or processed by a
  computer.
• Database. A large, regularly updated file of
  digitized information (bibliographic records,
  abstracts, full-text documents, directory
  entries, images, statistics, etc.) related to a
  specific subject or field, consisting of records
  of uniform format organized for ease and speed of
  search and retrieval and managed with the aid of
  database management system (DBMS) software.

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Key Characteristics

• Fielded
• Classified
• Order (generally) imposed via human intervention

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Types

• Reference
• Source

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Reference Databases

• Bibliographical (BIOSIS, Medline, INSPEC,
  Psycinfo, ERIC)
• Referral or Directory Databases (Chemsearch, DB
  Duns Electronic Business Directory, Scotts
  Government Index)

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Source

• Fulltext (Globe and Mail, Factiva, LEXIS)
• Textual-Numeric (SP Corporate Descriptions,
  Datastream)
• Numeric (CANSIM, CUSIP)
• Miscellaneous (Bloomberg, ICPSR Datasets)

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Online Information Retrieval

• What is it?
• When is it appropriate?
• When is it used?
• What are its advantages?
• What are its limitations or disadvantages?

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What is Online Information Retrieval?

• Web Searching (Google, Yahoo)
• Commercial Online Databases (Dialog, Factiva,
  Infomart, LEXIS)
• Federated Search Portals (Scholars Portal, Web of
  Knowledge)

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A Few Points

• Properly speaking, the individual files in Dialog
  are themselves databases
• Federated Search Portal interfaces are often used
  for searching specific databases
• Fields, indexes, controlled vocabulary, combining
  searches, command language are key elements in
  searching databases

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When is online searching appropriate?
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Internet Search Engines

• General background scans
• What is current, newsworthy
• Points of View

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Online Databases

• Focused search
• Comprehensive survey
• Reliable, relevant results

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Federated Search Portals

• Scholarly material
• Bibliographical information
• Multi-disciplinary results sought
• Use specific database if possible!

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When is it used?
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Internet Searching

• Quick look-up
• Organizations
• Events
• Individuals

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Online Databases

• Media monitoring
• Competitive Intelligence
• Market Research
• Due Diligence
• Reference

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Federated Search Portals

• Prepare bibliographies
• Citation analysis
• Scholarly research

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What are its advantages?

• Administrative advantages
• Searching advantages

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Administrative Advantages

• Save time, space and money
• Save effort
• Quicker and more efficient

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Searching Advantages

• Term searching of fields is generally possible
• Searches may be combined
• Complex searches may be constructed using Boolean
  operators
• Limits
• Precision
• Information is portable and hence transportable
• Searches may be conducted over many years

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Disadvantages?

• Your turn!

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Questions?
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I dont know about you but.

• Ive had enough
• See you all next week

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Thank you!