[1002] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Re: Boolean & Probabilistic
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Drew-Serials/Reference Librar)
Mon Aug 17 09:23:44 1992
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 08:18:37 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: "Bill Drew-Serials/Reference Librar. SUNY Morrisville" <DREWWE%snymorva.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I have sat back for awhile watching this discussion of relevance and different
search modes. I personally prefer boolean because I can adjust the amount I
want filtered out. Using packages that use the number of times a particular
word appears in the text seem foolish and possibly misleading to me. Quite
often I have done a search on systems using boolean in keyword or free text and
have found items of immense use where the keyword only appeared once in the
record. If I had used a ranking based on SOMEONEELSE'S idea of how I think I
never would have gotten the information. Serendipity would be lost.
Wilfred Drew (Call me "Bill") Serials/Reference/Computers Librarian
State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology
P.O. Box 902; Morrisville, NY 13408-0902
BITNET: DREWWE@SNYMORVA Internet: DREWWE@SNYMORVA.CS.SNYMOR.EDU
Phone: (315)684-6055 or 684-6060 Fax: (315)684-6115
Any opinions expressed here are mine and are subject to change without notice.
