The theoretical foundation of the IDC‐system: six postulates for information retrieval

Abstract

Successful delegated searching for publications relevant to the topic of an inquirer obeys rules whose relations to thermodynamics are unmistakable. By the continuous growth of a documentation system in the physical and conceptual respect, steadily increasing demands are made on the degree of order which prevails in the system or can be established at the specific request of an inquirer. If the order in a system cannot keep pace with the increasing requirements, its working capability will continuously decrease, because the searcher is becoming more and more overburdened in relation to his available search time, search patience, and search memory. The degree of order attainable in a growing literature collection can be estimated on the basis of six postulates. The better the requirements imposed by these postulates are approximated in a practical documentation system, the higher are its working capability and life expectancy, but the expenditure to be made on the literature analyses must also inevitably be higher.