Intelligent indexing and retrieval: A man-machine partnership

摘要

The designation of overlapping hierarchies in thesauri, first outlined in 1973, is suggested as a key element in progress towards a successful man-machine partnership. An updating, expansion and theoretical background of the 1973 proposal are given. The use of the UDC, both as a matrix and a searching aid, is postulated but is not essential. Means of distinguishing overlapping terms from other “related terms” are suggested, in order to make possible the accurate representation of all hirarchical relationships. At its largest, the result could be a “Universal Reference Vocabulary”, maintained on-line only and used to construct profiles before searching via natural language and/or class numbers. It is suggested that a computer program package for a small model area within Social Sciences should be given priority.