Expert selection of marketing databases
The selection of online sources to answer marketing queries was investigated by interviewing fifteen professional intermediary searchers. Results indicate an overall performance ranking for the hosts which were most used by these intermediaries. Selection of databases was influenced by cost, type and level of coverage, and the geographical focus of a database. The features and services offered by a host had little influence on database selection. Frequently-used databases were assessed for particular types of marketing information. The results were used to build a prototype expert system which recommends databases for marketing queries. The approach seems feasible, but more research into intermediaries’ expertise is needed.
The development of an expert system for online company database selection
: This paper describes a project undertaken in the Department of Information and Library Studies at Loughborough University to develop a prototype expert system to assist with the selection of online business databases for British company information. The project was funded by the British Library Research and Development Department for 21 months, commencing July 1990. Specific phases of the project comprised a literature survey, knowledge acquisition involving experts in online searching, the design and development of a system called CIDA (Company Information Database Adviser) which was some 4Mb in size, and a user evaluation of this prototype. The study demonstrated that expertise in business database selection can successfully be distilled into a number of rules which can be applied by an expert system.
Dialog Business connection: Dialog for the end-user
DIALOG Business Connection constitue une seconde etape dans le developpement de DIALOG en vue de devenir le principale fournisseur online d'information sur les affaires. Son but est de faciliter l'acces aux BD a un grand nombre d'utilisateurs rebutes par les problemes d'interrogation. Cet interface conviai permet l'acces par menu a deux douzaines de BD d'affaires, offre une orientation vers l'information primaire plutot que vers la reference, ou assortit celle-ci d'un long resume, et permet de conduire une recherche a partir d'un type de donnees et non d'une BD selectionnee en organisant les donnees en vue de l'utilisateur final. Cette conception entierement tournee vers l'utilisateur est presentee avec des exemples. (INTD)