Introduction to Modern Information Retrieval

by G.G. Chowdhury

It is recognized that today's information professionals need to concentrate their efforts on learning the techniques of computerized information retrieval. However, it is this book's contention that it also benefits them to learn in depth the theory, techniques and tools that constitute the traditional approaches to the organization and processing of information.
The text is one of the first to blend together the traditional and the new, and to give the student of information studies a comprehensive view of information retrieval. Unique in its scope, it covers the whole spectrum of information storage and retrieval.
Illustrated with many examples and comprehensively referenced for an international audience, this is a textbook for students of library and information studies undertaking courses in information retrieval, information organization, information use and knowledge-based systems at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. It is also an aid for information practitioners wishing to brush up on their skills and keep up to date with the latest techniques.

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, School, Textbooks, Reference, Grad School, Adult

474 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Heather Bolwar · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I click "read" I do so liberally. I read only the necessary bits to make it through my class. Some chapters were so dry my brain turned to talc. Other chapters, like chapter 9 and its use of statistics, brought back high school math class nightmares and I wept a bit. I can't sell this book back because when frustrated I wrote naughty words in the margins to make myself feel better.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i die a little every time i read another chapter.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd like to corporally punish whoever put this on the syllabus. I died a thousand times reading this VERY outdated book. Even for the 2010 version it was outdated. Damn.

[Ann Mccann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would only recommend this if you REALLY feel like boning up on the ins and outs of databases. This book is EATING UP MY SUMMER!

[Amanda Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times I went cross-eyed, especially when I got to the parts about database construction. Too math-y for my taste, that. But I did learn a lot.

[Anush · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whew, good riddance. I didn't learn anything from this book at all.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this did a pretty good job helping me understand some basic concepts. It’s a subject I knew relatively little about before I started reading, and I feel like the author does a good job introducing different topics and explaining them. A bit dry and heavy on the math, but I thought it was good as far as textbooks go!

[Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

While full of very good information, the presentation is so dense, as to be obtuse. Would not recommend a cover to cover read, but a good reference. Gives good practical advice about how to think about information retrieval.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

My textbook for my "Information Access and Retrieval" course in library school. I remember it not being a good textbook.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the textbook for my information retrieval digital libraries class this quarter. And boy does it read like a textbook! It is dry and dull, but it is also an excellent source of information and current debates/ideas about what information retrieval is and how you should evaluate it. It has great references for further exploring each areas and makes for a valuable reference book. (Though being me I did read it cover to cover). I felt parts definitely went into more detail on the technical side than was necessary. Still useful information to have. In addition to the information retrieval side of things it also goes into quite a bit of depth about information organisation within libraries, and cataloguing and classification. I would almost say it does this better than Chowdury's other book, "Form the shelf to the web" which was the required reading for my cataloguing and classification class. I borrowed my copy from the work's library but will likely end up buying my own as it seems like a very useful reference book to have (at least this term).

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more useful than The Organization of Information last semester, but still requires further explanation from an expert in the field to make it understandable (or maybe I just had a better experience in this class...). Sometimes the book takes for granted your knowledge of math and is often lacking in examples (understandable since examples probably become outdated faster than the book can republish - but still!). Pretty good overview, if outdated.

[Carrie Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is possibly the driest book I've ever delved into. I read a lot of non-fiction and it is entirely possible to make even the most obscure and difficult to comprehend concepts readable and somewhat entertaining while being informative. This book fails miserably. I may use the information for my research papers for my MLIS classes, but I doubt I will read the entire book and I would not recommend it to anyone other than to use for a few citation for a research paper. I do think the information is accurate, but the presentation of the information makes me very very sleepy >YAWN<

[Kathleen]

This is one of those things where you read it for class and say, "WHAT?" but then you encounter the information later on in coursework and it makes a ton of sense. Everything that I didn't understand on the page made sense in real life. When possible, try to go do the thing the chapter is telling you how to do.

[Mp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have learned that modern information retrieval is complex.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad as far as textbooks go. Covers a LOT of ground. Good overview and history of IR.

[Tracy Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculously expensive. Barely used.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a textbook for my first semester in my MLIS program. The content is very interesting to me, and the writing is clear and breaks down information to make it more understandable.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read about 3/4 of it for my class. Holy math equations that went way over my head! Computer programming and I likely would not get along.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is possibly the most terribly written textbook I have ever come across.