2002FallQ4

Question #4
There is a relationship between information organization and effective information retrieval. Traditionally, human indexers assigned controlled vocabulary descriptors/subject headings to documents. In many electronic information retrieval systems human indexing has been retained, yet because electronic retrieval systems allow entire documents to be searchable, the value of human indexing has been questioned. Identify and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of human and machine indexing practices and how they impact retrieval effectiveness in searching electronic resources.