LRL-—L INFORMATION INTEGRATION PROJECT
847
existence of each table will be made in the data file. The precise
nature of the table file is yet to be determined; a number of approaches
are being considered, some of which are still in the equipmentdevelopment stage. Until the most versatile file system is selected,
the original documents will be used as the storage means for the tables.
Procedure for Coding Information
If an information-retrieval system is to fulfill objectives of the
sort listed in the subsection on general aspects discussed earlier, one
guiding principle must be applied: The system must be designed to
respond to requests for specific informationfrom the various scientists.
For example, when a scientist requests all the data on the *°Sr concentration in rainfall in California, he does not want all the literature
on fallout or on *Sr, nor does he wantall the literature on °°Sr in
rainfall. He has made a specific request. In addition, he has made a
predictable request because he is approaching his problem in a manner
consistent with its logical and orderly solution.
There are, in addition to this guiding principle, two important
guidelines with respect to the mechanics of the system:
1. Each specific kind of information should be stored in a single
unique location. This obviously requires an unambiguous, detailed
classification of information.
2. Closely related to item 1, the transcription of the information
from the literature to the system must be simple and rapid since
transcription from the literature to the system will have to be done by
the hand of man at least in the foreseeable future. Simplicity helps to
guarantee accuracy as well as speed, and speed is required in the
handling of a large volumeof literature.
To meet the preceding requirements, we adopted a coding matrix
wherein the flow through the columns of the matrix corresponds to the
flow through
Figs. 1 and
separate and
radionuclide
the problem from source to human burdenas set forth in
2. Each column of the matrix (see Table 1) represents a
unique segment of the mission problem as it flows from
source to human burden. Since it is expected that there
will be in excess of 10‘ specific kinds of information pertinent to the
overall problem, this matrix will fulfill the need for both rapid and
unambiguous classification. It is necessary only to recognize where
a specific kind of information fits into the problem to determine how
to code it into the system. This, of course, also emphasizes the earlier
Statement that information-retrieval systems are a problem for the
working scientist.
To a considerable extent the columns also separate the problem
into the various scientific disciplines involved in the overall problem.