Toward the Development of Semantically-Based Search Systems

Over the past several years, we have conducted a number of empirical studies focusing on the performance of human search intermediaries and indexers. Based on insights from these studies, we have developed a computerized intermediary system (EP-X) that represents document contents as frames, and that uses knowledge-based search tactics to assist information seekers in exploring the contents of such frame-based document databases. Below, we present for discussion several propositions based on our experiences in studying human experts and in building computerized intermediaries.