An intuitive approach for the expression of Boolean queries

Abstract

Stating Boolean queries is a difficult task for many novice computer users, and yet the Boolean query is the standard method of requesting data in information retrieval systems. There is thus a need to improve the human-system interface for this kind of application. A graphical query language is presented for an information retrieval system. The language allows the user to state elementary queries by means of small images representing catalog cards. The Boolean combination of elementary queries is intuitively achieved by positioning the cards on the screen. This approach lets people use familiar concepts while attempting to achieve better utilization of the information retrieval system.<>