Hypertext Linking as a Model of Expert Indexing

Abstract

The position of this paper is that hypertext environments provide a new domain in which to explore the cognitive processes of indexing and classification and that the study of hypertext links allows the classification researcher to test the adequacy of current indexing theory. The process of linking segments of text in a hypertext system is a process similar to development of classes and term relations in the indexing process. However. linking methods can allow for linking without articulating the nature of the relationship: two segments may be connected on an intuitive basis rather than on the basis of a stated relationship between segments. Exploration of these "intuitive" links may suggest new approaches to indexing, that is, alternative facets, or connections among text segments, that contrast to current indexing languages.