Need for a systemic theory of classification in information science
Author
Karamuftuoglu, M.
Date
2007Source Title
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Print ISSN
1532-2882
Electronic ISSN
1532-2890
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
58
Issue
13
Pages
1977 - 1987
Language
English
Type
ArticleItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
In the article, the author aims to clarify some of the issues surrounding the discussion regarding the usefulness of a substantive classification theory in information science (IS) by means of a broad perspective. By utilizing a concrete example from the High Accuracy Retrieval from Documents (HARD) track of a Text REtrieval Conference (TREC), the author suggests that the "bag of words" approach to information retrieval (IR) and techniques such as relevance feedback have significant limitations in expressing and resolving complex user information needs. He argues that a comprehensive analysis of information needs involves explicating often-implicit assumptions made by the authors of scholarly documents, as well as everyday texts such as news articles. He also argues that progress in IS can be furthered by developing general theories that are applicable to multiple domains. The concrete example of application of the domain-analytic approach to subject analysis in IS to the aesthetic evaluation of works of information arts is used to support this argument.
Keywords
Information retrievalInformation science
Problem solving
Domain-analytic approach
High accuracy retrieval from documents
Text retrieval conference
Classification (of information)