ABSTRACT
We conducted a study of user queries to the National Library of Medicine Web site over a three month period. Our purpose was to study the nature and scope of these queries in order to understand how to improve users' access to the information they are seeking on our site. The results show that the queries are primarily medical in content (94%), with only a small percentage (5.5%) relating to library services, and with a very small percentage (.5%) not being medically relevant at all. We characterize the data set, and conclude with a discussion of our plans to develop a UMLS-based terminology server to assist NLM Web users.
Subject(s)
Information Services/statistics & numerical data , Internet/statistics & numerical data , National Library of Medicine (U.S.) , Terminology as Topic , Databases as Topic , Humans , Information Storage and Retrieval/methods , MEDLINE/statistics & numerical data , Unified Medical Language System , United StatesABSTRACT
The Large Scale Vocabulary Test, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), was conducted to determine the extent to which a combination of existing health-related terminologies cover vocabulary needed in health care information systems. The test was conducted over the Internet using a sophisticated World Wide Web interface with over 60 participants and over 40,000 terms submitted. This paper discusses the issues encountered in the design and execution of the experiment, including the design of the interface and the issues of recruitment, training, and guidance of remote participants over the Internet. Test data are currently undergoing expert review. Upon completion of the expert review, the results of the test will be fully reported.
Subject(s)
Computer Communication Networks , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Unified Medical Language System , Vocabulary, ControlledABSTRACT
The National Library of Medicine's Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) project regularly distributes a set of Knowledge Sources to the research community. In 1995 the UMLS data were made available for the first time through the Internet-based UMLS Knowledge Source Server. The server can be accessed through three different client interfaces. The World Wide Web interface allows users to browse and explore the data and to see how those data are organized in the UMLS. The command-line interface is best suited for batch processing, and the application programming interface allows developers at remote sites to embed calls in their application programs to the Knowledge Source Server.
