THE EFFECT OF LINKAGE STRUCTURE ON RETRIEVAL PERFORMANCE IN A HYPERTEXT-BASED BIBLIOGRAPHIC RETRIEVAL-SYSTEM

The authors investigated how linkage environments in a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system affect retrieval performance for novic e and experienced searchers. Two systems, one with inter-record linkag es to authors and descriptors and one that also included title and abs tract keywords, were tested. No significant differences in retrieval p erformance and system usage were found for most search tests. However, the enhanced system did provide better performance where title and ab stract keywords provided the most direct access to relevant records. T he findings have implications for the design of bibliographic informat ion retrieval systems using hypertext linkages. Copyright (C) 1996 Els evier Science Ltd