Terminological problems in information retrieval.

Abstract

This is the first in the series of the papers on an application of the systems analytic approach to evaluation of information retrieval (IR). At the beginning, the importance of consistent terminology in information retrieval is discussed, and different definitions of "information retrieval" and "IR system" are presented. The importance of identifying boundaries of the IR system for clarifying terminological differences is discussed. The terminological problems in IR are summarized, and some of the existing approaches to their solution are identified. A historical overview of IR research is presented in order to explain the existing terminological differences and to create a common basis for a discussion of evaluation approaches to IR.