Xiaorong Xiang, a Ph. D. student in computer science here at Notre
Dame, has started working full-time here in my department. She will be
helping us implement a Find More Like This One service as a part of the
Ockham National Science Foundation Digital Library project.

If everything goes right, this is how the service will work:

0. We will index OAI-accessible content from National Science
Foundation Digital library projects as well as open access journal
literature.

1. A person will search the index(es).

2. Search results will include three things:

   A. First, they will include bibliographic data describing and linking
to found items. Simple.

   B. Second, search results will include additional pre-created queries
-- other search strategies -- that can be applied to the same or other
indexes. These will be similar in appearance to Google ads.

   C. Search results will also include embedded links to Find More Like
This One. By selecting these links users will be given the opportunity
to select qualities of the selected record they find desireable, i.e.
author, title, format, publisher, etc. These selected qualities will be
returned to system and transformed into new queries that can be applied
against the same or other indexes. These new queries will be
transformed using a combination of statistical analysis, semantic
analysis, and professional judgment.

3. The implementation will be distributed as open source software using
a documented Web Service technique. Ideally, this should enable the
technique to be applied to other search services. (Famous last words.)

Xiaorong will be with us until August 31. On our mark. Get set. Go!

--
Eric Lease Morgan
Head, Digital Access and Information Architecture Department
University Libraries of Notre Dame

(574) 631-8604