| The tremendous growth of computer-readable databases makes automated database selection very desirable in online services. Gateway systems as components in online networks convert information among online systems and aid the users in various ways including database selection. An evaluation of online database selection by an existing gateway system (InfoMaster, a version of EasyNet) was performed, comparing database selections made by experienced reference librarians with those made by inexperienced searchers aided by InfoMaster for the same set of queries. The results show that automated database selection by InfoMaster still heavily depends on a human decision concerning the broad subject area into which a query falls. When the gateway user properly selects the subject area for a particular query, InfoMaster can do automated database selection as well as the human intermediaries. Artificial intelligence techniques (AI) for automated database selection by gateway systems were studied and a framework of AI techniques for this particular function was outlined based on the analysis of the evaluation results. |
