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Full-Text Articles in Cataloging and Metadata
Measuring The Value Of Professional Indexing, Philip Hider, Pru Mitchell, Robert Parkes
Measuring The Value Of Professional Indexing, Philip Hider, Pru Mitchell, Robert Parkes
Information Management
This study provides both a quantitative estimate and qualitative analysis of the additional ‘retrieval power’ that professionally assigned subject indexing affords users of a typical database in the field of education. A full version of Informit’s A+ Education database and one stripped of its subject indexing were searched by four research assistants tasked with compiling exhaustive bibliographies on forty-eight topics. The searchers were then surveyed about their use of the two databases, while their bibliographies and search logs were also examined. A two-way ANOVA model was constructed to estimate the percentage of additional resources found by the searchers on the …
Introducing An Automated Subject Classifier, Pru Mitchell, Tine Grimston, Robert Parkes
Introducing An Automated Subject Classifier, Pru Mitchell, Tine Grimston, Robert Parkes
Information Management
The library community understands the value of controlled vocabularies in enhancing resource discovery. There is however ongoing tension between that value and the cost of maintaining and applying specialist vocabularies. This paper presents the outcomes of a 2014-15 trial of automated subject indexing at the Australian Council for Educational Research. The integration of a machine learning classification tool has resulted in streamlined workflows and increased use of machine-readable data. Insights were gained into the decisions human indexers make in using a controlled vocabulary, and into the importance of quality abstracts and metadata.