| Webster's Online Dictionary |
| Expressions | Domain | Definition | |
| False Drop | Agriculture | A record returned as a matching result or hit that isn't relevant to the searcher's information need. In most cases, this happens because words can be used in very different ways. For instance, in terms of organic farming, the word "organic" can retrieve many false drops (organic acids, organic chemistry) if not linked to agriculture-related terms in the search query. (references) | |
| False drop | Art | In information retrieval, a bibliographic record retrieved in a keywords search, which is unrelated to the subject of the search, usually because it meets the syntactic requirements of the query, but not its semantic requirements. False drops generally occur when meaning is contingent on the order of search terms (library + school retrieves "library school" and "school library") or when a term used in a search statement has more than one meaning. For example, a search on the keyword "aids" will retrieve records for items about HIV infection, and also items about hearing aids, teaching aids, band-aids, etc. To avoid this problem, a qualifier such as "disease" must be added to the search statement to make retrieval more precise. Synonymous with false combination. See also: semantic factoring. (references) | |
| False drop | Computing | Library references that are not pertinent to, but are vaguely related to, the subject of the library search, and are sometimes obtained by automatic search methods. Source: European Union. (references) | |
| False drop | Information | In reference retrieval: a retrieved reference that does not pertain to the subject sought. An unwanted document obtained when access to a desired document was attempted. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
