Scope

Subject Scope in Legal Information Retrieval

The following is a basic concept of Subject Scope in relation to information retrieval. In addition to this, Subject Scope may be applied to legal texts, including case law, legislation and scholarly works. The subject scope of an Information Retrieval database describes the kinds of questions or desires that an Information Retrieval database can respond to. Generally this can be done by specifying anywhere from ten to thirty categories of topics that the Information Retrieval database addresses. When Information Retrieval databases are presented to users electronically, an ideal number of key subject scope categories is between ten and fifteen, because this is the number of topics that can be clearly displayed on an opening electronic search interface, where an overall view of the Information Retrieval database should be presented to potential users. The analysis and definition of a subject scope can often begin with generic categories or facets of topics that pertain to all subject fields. These are categories like:_ entities or things (persons, artifacts, natural objects, animals and plants, institutions, and other abstract entities, etc.)_ attributes or constituent materials_ actions (operations, processes, and events)_ places. Specialized Information Retrieval Databases Will Have Much More Specific or Narrower Categories or Facets.