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In search of the unknown user: indexing, hypertext and the world wide web

David Ellis (Department of Information Studies, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN)
Nigel Ford (Department of Information Studies, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN)
Jonathan Furner (School of Information and Media, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen)

Journal of Documentation

ISSN: 0022-0418

Article publication date: 1 March 1998

730

Abstract

For the purposes of this article, the indexing of information is interpreted as the pre‐processing of information in order to enable its retrieval. This definition thus spans a dimension extending from classification‐based approaches (pre‐co‐ordinate) to keyword searching (post‐co‐ordinate). In the first section we clarify our use of terminology, by briefly describing a framework for modelling IR systems in terms of sets of objects, relationships and functions. In the following three sections, we discuss the application of indexing functions to document collections of three specific types: (1) ‘conventional’ text databases; (2) hypertext databases; and (3) the World Wide Web, globally distributed across the Internet.

Keywords

Citation

Ellis, D., Ford, N. and Furner, J. (1998), "In search of the unknown user: indexing, hypertext and the world wide web", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 54 No. 1, pp. 28-47. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007160

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1998, MCB UP Limited

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