How do you describe a symbol? The problems involved in retrieving symbols from a database*

The paper identifies the need for a suitable management system for retrieving images from a database. Various search objectives are described which cannot be met by current retrieval methods. A number of approaches to the problem are discussed and the advantages of a flexible classification system are highlighted. By analysing the formal attributes of symbols, a classification structure is derived which starts with a division into graphic, semantic and bibliographic dimensions. Two experimental tasks are used to examine user's perceptions of the features of symbols. These results can be used to fill in the detailed descriptions in the classification system. One important point that emerges from these tasks is the value of general impressions in communicating a description of a symbol.