Types of Information Retrieval Tools

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Types of information retrieval tools
Bibliographies
A list of information-bearing items. Bibliographies bring together lists of sources based on subject
matter, on authors, by time periods, etc. Bibliographies can be a part of a scholarly work and consist of
the information sources that were consulted to by the author or compiler, or they can be completely
separate entities--an individual list of lists. Bibliographies have a particular focus and/or arrangement:
subject, author, language, period, locale, publisher, form. Oftentimes, bibliographies have a combination
of focuses. Each information-bearing item has a unique description that will include: author(s), title,
edition, publisher, place, and date of publication, etc.
Catalogs
Catalogue provides access to individual item within the collect ions of information resources (eg.
physical entities such as books, videocassettes, and CDs in a library, artists’ works in an art museum, web
page on the Internet; etc). The descriptions in a catalog are constructed according to a standard style
selected by a particular community (AACR 2 for libraries; Describing Archives: A content standard (DACS)
for Archives; The Dublin Core for Internet resources; etc). Each information source is represented by a
physical description, classification, and subject analysis. Access points are determined, subject headings
are assigned, and authority control terms are applied.
Practically speaking catalogs should be able to:
1. Enable a person to find an information-bearing item(s) of which either the author, title, and/or
subject is known.
2. Show what a collection has by a given author, on a given subject, in a given kind of literature.
3. Assist in the choice of material(s) as to the edition (bibliographically) and as to its character (literary
or topical).
4. Provide an inventory of the collection.
Indexes
An index is a systematic arrangement of entries designed to enable users to locate information in a

document. There are many types of indexes, from cumulative indexes for journals to computer database
indexes. Thus, books, periodicals, images, database, numerical data, etc can be index.
Nature of Indexes
Come in many forms and formats
Printed
Electronic (CD-ROM, or on-line)
Both
It serves many purposes
Name indexes
Subject indexes
Map indexes
Artifacts indexes
Address indexes
Indexes are not limited to what is available in a local setting. They are arranged in alphabetical order
with entries offered for authors, titles, and subjects. There is not a standard of arrangement,
organization, or online searching.
Finding Aids
Long descriptions of archival collections. Also referred to as an inventory. Finding aids are often
cataloged, that is an alternative record that provides the name, title, and subject points to the item(s).
Registers
Registers are primary control tools for museums, also referred to as an accession log. They function like
catalogs, although they have additional kinds of access points, such as the identification of the object,
the donor, a history of association (i.e. where or with whom previously owned the item), any insurance
related information. An identification number (accession number) is assigned. The accession record
becomes one or more files that help to provide organization to a museum's collection.
Online Databases
Electronic catalogs, where records are encoded for computer display and are stored in computer
memory or on CD-ROM disks. They are built on the technical logic supported by relational database
theories. Databases that have records that are all stored within the same file. Records are link by a
unique identifier and are linked to related databases that share this unique identifier. In addition, online
databases conserves storage space, allows for faster searching, and allows for easier modification of
records
 categories of knowledge organization systems (K.O.S).
-Knowledge organization systems are mechanisms for organizing information at the

information centers like the libraries, museums and archive.
- They are used to organize information materials for the purpose of retrieval and to
manage a collection.
-Knowledge organization systems are used to serve as the bridge between the users’
information need and the material in the collection.
-The categories of knowledge organization systems include the following:
1)Term lists
-Term lists include the following subdivisions;
a) Authority files- Authority files are the lists of terms used to control the variants names
for an entity or the domain value for a particular field e.g. the names of a country,
individuals or organizations.
-Authority files do not include a deep organization or a complex
structure hence the presentation may be alphabetical or organize by a
shallow classification scheme.
-When the authority files are accessed manually or when it is large,
limited hierarchy may be applied to allow for simple navigation.
-Examples of authority files include the Library of Congress National
Authority File (LCNAF) and the Getty Geographic Authority File. (GGAF).
b) Glossaries – Glossaries refers to an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of
knowledge with the definitions for those terms.
–A glossary usually appears at the end of a book and includes terms within that book
that are either newly introduced, uncommon or unspecialized.
-It is also called a vocabulary or clavis and examples include the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Terms of the environment.
c) Dictionaries – A dictionary is book or electric resource that provides a list of words of a

language in an alphabetical order and gives their meaning.
–Dictionaries also give the equivalent words in a different language and also provide
information about the pronunciation, origin and the usage of the words.
-Examples of dictionaries include the Oxford English dictionary and
Westers’ Dictionary.
d) Gazetteers – A gazetteer is a dictionary, a book or a list that is arranged in alphabetical
order and gives information about places.
-They are often organized using classification schemes or subject
categories.
-Examples of gazetteers include the Atlases, Maps, Aerial images and
Cartographies.
2)Classification And Categorization.
a) Subject Headings – Subject headings provide a set of control terms to represent the
subjects of items in a collection.
-Subject Headings lists can be extensive and cover a broad range of
subjects; however, the subject headings list’s structure is generally
very shallow with a limited hierarchical structure.
-Examples of Subject Headings lists include the Medical Subject
Headings (MeSH) and the Library of Congress Subject Heading
(LCSH).
b) Classification schemes, Taxonomies and categorization Schemes. –These types classification

are used to provide ways of separating entities into broad topic levels.
-They may not follow the rules for hierarchy required i.e. the thesaurus
standards and they lack the explicit relationship presented in a
thesaurus.
-Examples of classification schemes include the Library of Congress and
the Universal Decimal Classification.
-Taxonomies are used in object used in object oriented design and
knowledge management systems to indicate any grouping of objects
based on a particular characteristic.
3) Relationship Lists.
a) Thesauri – It is based on concept and show relationships among the terms.
-The relationships expressed in thesaurus include the hierarchy,

equivalence (synonymy) and the association or the relatedness.
-The relationships are usually represented by the notation NT (narrower
term), BT (broader term), SY (synonymy) and RT (associative or related
term).
-Associative relationships may be more detailed in some schemes e.g.
the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) from the National Library
of Medicine has defined more than forty relationships, many of which
are associative.
-There are standards for the development of monolingual thesauri and
multilingual thesauri where by the definition of the thesauri in the
standard is narrower.
-The definitions of the thesaurus in these standards are often at variant
with schemes that are traditionally called thesauri.
-Many thesauri do not follow all the rules of the standard but are still
generally thought as the thesauri.
-Many thesaurus are large, they may include more than 50,000 terms
mostly developed for a specific discipline e.g. the Food and Agricultural
Organization’s Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Thesaurus and the
National Aeronautic Thesaurus and Space Administration (NASA)
Thesaurus for the aeronautics and aerospace related topic.
b) Semantic Networks – Semantic networks are schemes that represent

knowledge involving nodes and links
-The nodes represent objects or concepts and the links relations

between the nodes.
-The most noted semantic network is Princeton University’s Word net
which is now used in a variety of search engines.
c) Ontologies – Ontology is a formal naming and definition of the types, properties and
interrelationships of entities that fundamentally exist for a particular domain of disclosure.
-They represent complex relationship among objects and include the rules and
axioms missing from the semantic networks.
- Ontologies that describe knowledge in a specific area are often connected

with the systems for data mining and knowledge management.

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Types of Information Retrieval Tools

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New

Types of information retrieval tools

Practically speaking catalogs should be able to:

4. Provide an inventory of the collection.

An index is a systematic arrangement of entries designed to enable users to locate information in a

Come in many forms and formats

It serves many purposes

 categories of knowledge organization systems (K.O.S).

-Knowledge organization systems are mechanisms for organizing information at the

-Term lists include the following subdivisions;

c) Dictionaries – A dictionary is book or electric resource that provides a list of words of a

b) Classification schemes, Taxonomies and categorization Schemes. –These types classification

a) Thesauri – It is based on concept and show relationships among the terms.

-The relationships expressed in thesaurus include the hierarchy,

b) Semantic Networks – Semantic networks are schemes that represent

-The nodes represent objects or concepts and the links relations

- Ontologies that describe knowledge in a specific area are often connected

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