Information retrieval support systems

Information retrieval support systems (IRSS) are designed with the objective to provide the necessary utilities, tools, and languages that support a user to perform various tasks in finding useful information and knowledge. While existing information retrieval systems (IRS) focus on the search and browsing functionalities, an IRSS focuses on the supporting functionalities. IRSS are more flexible and combine the functionalities of IRS, Web browser and Web search engines. One objective of the paper is to demonstrate the needs for, and the potential benefits of, moving from IRS to IRSS. On the one hand, IRSS is an emerging important research topic, and on the other hand, there is a lack of a systematic study on the topic. Another objective of the paper is to present a framework for IRSS by drawing results from decision support systems (DSS) and intelligent systems. Basic issues of IRSS are discussed, and basic components of an IRSS, as well as its functionalities, are studied.