Search (33 results, page 1 of 2)

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Abstract

The efficiency of the role operators of PRECIS may be studied from two viewpoints - quantitative as well as qualitative. The frequency of appearance of different role operators in an input string may be taken as a measure of such quantitative parameters of efficiency. The scope of this paper lies in measuring the efficiency of role operators through their frequency of appearances in input strings. Most of the earlier research on PRECIS focused either on its general descriptions or its application to various subjects, media, languages, institutions, countries and to any regional/national/international information exchange network. No work has so far been reported which makes a quantitative evaluation of the system through its role operators except some general evaluative studies against different subject fields

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Content

Enthält die Beiträge: AUSTIN, D.: The development of PRECIS, and introduction to its syntax; AUSTIN, D.: The semantics of PRECIS: vocabulary control and the RIN system; AUSTIN, D.: Management aspects of PRECIS, and current research and development; SØRENSEN, J.: Multilingual aspects of PRECIS; RICHMOND, P.A.: PRECIS compared with other indexing systems; BRUIN, V. de: PRECIS in a university library; SCHABAS, A.H.: Machine searching of UK MARC on title, LCSH, and PRECIS for selective dissemeination of information; TAYLOR, A.: Manual application of PRECIS in a high school library; ROBINSON, C.D.: Indexing nonbook materials by PRECIS; DYKSTRA, M.: The National Film Board of Canada project; COOK, C.D.: The practical possibilities of PRECIS in North America

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Source

Journal of documentation. 30(1974), S.47-102

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Source

Journal of librarianship. 17(1985), S.244-267

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Abstract

The background to the Liverpool Polytechnique study of indexer reaction to the PRECIS indexing system and the methodology of the study are described. Some of the findings are discussed, special attention being given to points which some indexers regarded as advantages and other as disadvantages; the alleged labour-intensiveness of PRECIS; the British Library and PRECIS; and the impact of PRECIS on the British library community. A thesaurus of terms used in the British Library PRECIS indexes is needed, and some consideration should be given to the possible simplifications of PRECIS or modification to suit the needs of different users. Feedback from users of PRECIS indexes is required

Source

Journal of documentation. 35(1979), S.164-178

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Imprint

Urbana-Champaign : Univ. of Illinois, Graduate School of Library Science

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Abstract

In this second paper in the series on PRECIS we set out to establish a theoretical model of the indexing operation to account for the growing empirical evidence that PRECIS can be applied successfully to the terms and phrases of more than one natural language (NL). For this purpose, the system is examined from two different but related viewpoints, the first linguistic and the second logical. In linguistic terms, the schema of role operators is related to certain features of NL which are regarded by linguists as language-independent, particular attention being paid to Chomsky's 1965 theory, the notion of deep cases, and the idea that roles, as used in an indexing language (IL) are related to deep cases in NL. It is realised that we should not rely too heavily on analogies between NL and IL, on the grounds that these two kinds of language have different structures and to some extent different functions, Consequently, the structure of a PRECIS string is also considered in terms of an alternative logic, and it is suggested that the order of terms in strings and entries, explained in the earlier paper through reference to the dual properties of context-dependency and one-toone relationships, is also amenable to a different but reinforcing explanation in terms of time-dependency. These two types of explanation, the linguistic and the logical, form the basis for a proposed theoretical model of the 'stages of indexing'. Finally, the authors consider the implications of this model for multilingual indexing.

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Abstract

Derek Austin's PRECIS, or PREserved Context Index System, was one of the most sophisticated indexing systems ever developed for text. Austin noted that there are many ways that the meaning of index entries may be misread and misunderstood, if the original context from which the concept came was not present. Drawing on a good understanding of linguistics, Austin and his colleagues developed a highly rigorous, yet not impossibly difficult, set of principles to use in indexing with the help of PRECIS. The system was particularly valuable for generating multiple word orderings of entries that still retained their proper contextual meaning. Much of the need for this feature was obviated by the development of powerful full text searching in information systems, however, and PRECIS receded from view in information science. The final sections of the article that address the details of coding and indexing management are deleted from the text below.

Source

Encyclopedia of library and information sciences. 3rd ed. Ed.: M.J. Bates

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Abstract

The Preserved Context Index System (PRECIS) developed for subject indexing for the BNB is discussed as a basis for various studies relating to classification which could be made from its initial phrases, strings, entries and back-up structure. Specific possibilities include use of mehodologies such as Goffman's "indirect method", Fox's "characterization" of rules, derivation of empirical hyperbolic distributions, and lognormal distributions. The relationship of existing methods of subject analysis to each other through PRECIS is explored. Brief samples are included

Source

Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 27(1976), S.240-247

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Abstract

Designing research on the retrieval effectiveness of computer searches on PRECIS compared with retrieval effectiveness of searches on other types of subject analysis used in computer-based information sources is a complex process. This paper explores the complexity of measuring comparative retrieval effectiveness through a comparison of the subject analysis provided by the PRECIS system for fifty articles with the subject analysis provided for the same articles by three computer-based information sources: ERIC/CIJE, LLBA/Online and PsycINFO. Objectives are: (1) to discover factors that should be taken into account when designing this type of research; and (2) to identify extraneous variables that work against internal validity in research design .

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Abstract

One current trend in information retrieval that can facilitate resource sharing and cost reduction is the sread of common indexing languages. Of the more sophisticated languages available, clearly the best known and widely adopted is PRECIS. One of the claims made for PRECIS by its designer is that the role operators it uses correspond to linguistic universals, making PRECIS eminently suitable for multilingual indexing. This strong claim, if justified, could make PRECIS the common indexing language of choice where translation problems have high priority, as they do in Canada. This paper shows there is little support for this claim to universality because the role operators are defined in terms of superficial characteristics of language that are far from universal

Source

Sharing resources, sharing costs. Proc. of the 7th Annual Canadian Conf. on Information Science, Banff, 12.-15.5.1979

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Abstract

89 articles from a small, Danish left-wing newspaper were indexed by PRECIS and KWIC. The articles cover a wide range of social science subjects. Controlled test searches in both indexes were carried out by 20 students of library science. The results obtained from this small-scale retrieval test were evaluated by a chi-square test. The PRECIS index led to more correct answers and fewer wrong answers than the KWIC index, i.e. it had both better recall and greater precision. Furthermore, the students were more confident in their judgement of the relevance of retrieved articles in the PRECIS index than in the KWIC index; and they generally favoured the PRECIS index in the subjective judgement they were asked to make

Source

Journal of librarianship. 14(1982), S.45-58

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Abstract

Report on research carried out in Brazil for a doctoral thesis, investigating the possibility of using the PRECIS indexing system for documents in Portuguese. Discusses the theoretical basis of PRECIS, and presents the resultss of a study in comparing the use PRECIS to index 2 samples of documents, in English and Portuguese respectively. Concludes that, with minor modifications to take account of the differences in structure between the 2 languages. PRECIS could produce satisfactory results for documents in Portuguese. This suggests the further possibility that PRECIS - because of its sound logical basis rather than its complex linguistic theory - could become a multilingual indexing system.

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Abstract

The PRECIS system of subject headings was designed for use with a computer-produced subject index. Accordingly, the routines of subject heading work are clearly differentiated into clerical procedures and those that require judgement. The clerical procedures can be accomplished largely through the use of computer programs. The subject headings represent a unique combination of several different characteristics. As a result the system permits several coextensive forms of a subject name for each work. The allowable forms of subject name are restricted somewhat by the constraints of the system but the final choice amongst the various alternatives is made by the subject analyst. Often, this choice reflects his or her usage rather than any attempt to realize an explicit code for subject names. There is some evidence that this judgement varies in individual cases. Moreover, there is no empirical evidence that the alternatives permitted do reflect user convenience - although, in fact, this may be true

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Series

Outlines of modern librarianship

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Abstract

This fourth paper in the series on PRECIS will consider the theoretical model of the indexing operation proposed in an earlier paper, and extend its application to one of the Romance languages, namely French. The present author has noted, throughout the publication of this series, how closely these logico-linguistic explanations could be applied to indexing in the French language. It is realised that experiments into PRECIS as a multilingual system are not complete, and that a new phase has undoubtedly started with the current British Library investigation of its translingual potential. Nevertheless, it would appear that the major problems still facing the researchers, such as the treatment of inflections, infixes, etc., are mostly related to the Germanic languages. As far as French is concerned, it is a relatively simple matter to give a positive answer to the question posed in the first paper: " . . . Do the codes and procedures developed so far (including the specified additions) amount to a general system which is capable of operating in any of the major European (and other) languages?"

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Abstract

The first opportunity to assess a largescale application of the PRECIS indexing system in North America came with its adoption by the National Film Board of Canada as the method of subject access to a national information system for Canadian audiovisual materials. The authors provide an overview of PRECIS use by this automated bibliographic service - the reasons for its choice, the challenge involved in the subject analysis and indexing of audiovisual documents, the methodology and software used to process PRECIS records, the resulting catalogue subject indexes and user reaction

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Abstract

The present paper is offered as the first of a series of articles in which PRECIS will be reviewed as a potential multi-lingual system, having in mind the obvious need, notably in a European context, for standard and language independent methods of subject analysis and document description. This first paper outlines the origins of PRECIS, and considers its use in English language indexing. A second paper will deal in general terms with the syntactical model which is used for producing PRECIS input strings and index entries. Later papers will then review the application of this model to indexing in, firstly, the Germanic languages (e.g. German and Danish), and, secondly, the Romance languages, illustrated by French.

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Abstract

Probably the most interesting, original and controversial indexing system of the 1970s has been PRECIS (the Preserved Context Index System) developed by Derek Austin. It attracted such attention that the short courses given at the British National Bibliography offices in London -initiated as a means of teaching the staff of BNB who did subject indexing-were repeated all over the world, in the form of three-day or three-week sessions. A few fortunate non-BNB indexers were taken into London classes, taught by Austin and Digger, and had the advantage of a week's work with the regular staff theresomething that could not be done elsewhere. In addition, descriptions of the system were published from time to time as progress was made an the system itself and clarification or updating were needed. This article has been selected as an example of clarification. A second edition of the original 1974 Manual describing PRECIS appeared in early 1984, so the system may now be regarded as fully mature. PRECIS, which is the culmination of Austin's research for the Classification Research Group plus considerable additional input from the science of linguistics, is a highly sophisticated indexing system, deliberately created to be used with a computer. The motive behind it was that the indexer should do the brain work and the computer the nitty-gritty work of manipulating index terms. Chosen combinations and permutations are used as head words under strict rules to ensure that the context which defines the specific meaning of these words is always present, thus avoiding the ambiguity problem in indexing. The system also has classifi ation features, in part drawn from the Group's long interest in faceted classification. The actual index produces a large number of index entries, each carrying with it the basic context of the item being described. A weIl-defined terminology, in addition to contextdependency, is a feature of PRECIS. Role operators define the types of terms used and control the manipulations of the terms, which are originally entered as a string. The indexer is able to analyze and reduce to string form any document, process, or material that can be described in words, making it ideal for most audiovisual material.
The system itself has two major aspects: - a syntactic approach in which relationships between terms are identified and tagged. Suitable algorithms for manipulation produce a very thorough index in which each head word is kept in context. - a semantic approach in which terminology is weIl defined by ensuring that the relationships of equivalence, hierarchy, and association are clearly established. Charts of relationships are created by inductive means (i.e., from the ground up). A special code for computer manipulation is used with each line of the string. This translates the string format into one that, with specially derived algorithms, can be used by the computer, to produce the actual index headings with all parts rotated by following the algorithm. The PRECIS system has been translated and utilized for languages other than English, notably French, German, and Danish. Modifications needed for idiosyncracies of each language have been made. Some, such as those modifications needed for German, have turned out to have usefulness with English as weIl. All in all, the system has such advanced indexing concepts that it provides a kind of indexing not possible before the computer came into common usage. Austin, who joined the staff of the British National Bibliography in 1963, is currently a member of the British Library staff. His early work included a NATO-sponsored research assignment for the Classification Research Group (q.v.). This, in turn, led to the development of PRECIS.

Source

Theory of subject analysis: a sourcebook. Ed.: L.M. Chan, et al