The Data-Document Distinction Revisited

摘要

The Data Retrieval and Document Retrieval models have a number of differences which influence their design, use and management. This paper discusses the most prominent of these differences and shows that they all arise from the more fundamental problem of representational indeterminacy. Representational indeterminacy is a result of the effects of semantic ambiguity and system size. If the differences between the Data Retrieval and Document Retrieval models arise from the same problem then the models are not as distinct as they may have appeared. The Data Retrieval and Document Retrieval models are better seen as examples of information systems with lower and higher levels of representational indeterminacy. The paper concludes with a proposal for an operational definition of representational indeterminacy and a discussion of the role of context and system size in reducing high levels of indeterminacy.