A Computer Intermediary for Scientific and Technical Information Retrieval by End Users

信息科学研究的一个目标是改进数据库查询语言，使它们更容易使用、更容易学习，并且更不容易出现用户错误。大多数非技术最终用户如果没有受过专门训练的中介人或使用联机系统的专家的帮助，就不能使用现有的大型联机书目数据库系统，即使受过训练的中介人也不能同样精通所有现有的许多书目系统。使用人工智能技术生产计算机助手或中介，将使最终用户和专家通过协助查询构建直接有效地检索信息成为可能。重点是将用户的非受控词汇表查询导向特定数据库的受控索引词汇表。为了在Chemical Abstracts数据库上验证这一原则，将实现一个计算机中介来协助用户进行查询构建。本研究的结果将适用于各种数据库系统的信息检索查询构建，特别是非技术人员和临时用户的查询构建。

One goal of information science research is the improvement of database query languages, making them simpler to use, easierto learn, and less prone to user error. Most non-technical endusers cannot use existing large online bibliographic database systems without help from specially trained intermediaries or experts in the use of the online systems, and even trained intermediaries are not equally proficient in all of the many bibliographic systems available. The use of artificial intelligence techniques to produce computer assistants or intermediaries will make it possible for end users and experts to retrieve information directly and efficiently by assisting with query construction. The specific emphasis is on directing the user's uncontrolled vocabulary queries toward controlled indexing vocabulary for a particular database. A computer intermediary to assist users with query construction will be implemented to validate this principle on the Chemical Abstracts database. The results obtained in this study will be applicable to query construction for information retrieval, particularly by non- technical personnel and casual users, on a wide range of database systems.