Abstract:
Information retrieval is the process of searching for i n formation
and data, stored in or contained i n various formats
and sources. Any system, w h i c h facilitates the information
searching activity, is normally called an information retrieval
system. The system is made of six major subsystems, w h i ch
are the document selection subsystem, the indexing subsystem,
the vocabulary subsystem, and the subsystem of usersystem
interaction and the matching subsystem. The indexing
subsystem consists of a bibliographic description of each
document i n the collection along w i t h various access points to
make this retrievable. Controlled vocabulary is considered as
an important index variable and also plays a central role i n a
typical retrieval system. This means that vocabulary control
is a relative rather than an absolute system. Modern information retrieval systems generally make use of free-text indexing (e.g.; database on On-line system). These two indexing systemshave some artificial barrier between users and information.
This paper briefly discusses the advantages and the disadvantages
of controlled vocabulary and free-text indexing.
