Electronic Retrieval and Analysis System for Industry Associations - ELVIRA

Staff: Heiko Hellweg, André Schaefer, Dr. Maximilian Stempfhuber
Project leader: Dr. Maximilian Stempfhuber
Contact: Dr. Maximilian Stempfhuber

Project description:

During the Project ELVIRA II, an information system for heterogeneous data, integrated into an ergonomic user interface was created at the Social Science Information Centre  for use by the project partners (several german industry associations). Based on a user centric model, a concept for the integration of textual and factual data was created on a core of information science methods, incooperating innovative combinations of current information retrieval techniques. The text-fact integration uses three basic approaches for transformation of user queries (e.g. reformulation of a fact query into a text query):

• Cross-concordances and thesauri
• Statistical procedures
• Deductive procedures

Due to the large range of available procedures, the resources available from the industry associations (data providers) can, on the one hand, be employed optimally, while on the other hand, the users (usually market researchers in the associations member companys) are provided with a broad spectrum of supporting methods. These range from keyword lists or thesauri and cross-concordances between different nomenclatures up to suggestions of search terms for free-text searches.
Project phase ELVIRA I had focused on user-friendly access to statistical time series data. Based on the principles of the WOB model, a new syntax for user interfaces was developed which achieves a context dependent reduction of the amount of information by dynamic adaptation of the display. The project result of ELVIRA I was a production quality system, installed at approximately 500 sites (members the participating industrial associations).

In project phase ELVIRA II, access to texts was developed in addition to the access to facts. Both were integrated by use of cross concordances and statistical transfer components in a way that made the simultaneous and iterative search for texts and facts possible. The project result is a fully functional prototype which will be implemented and refined in further cooperation with the industry partners.

Project partner:

• Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie e.V., Berlin, (Contact: Petra Kraus, Tel.: +49 (030) 2 12 86 - 242
• Zentralverband der Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e.V. (ZVEI), Frankfurt, (Contact: Jürgen Polzin, Tel: +49 (069) 63 02 - 230)
• Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.v. (VDMA), Frankfurt, (Contact: Dr. Ralph Wiechers, Tel.: +49 (069) 66 03-14 65)
  
  in Cooperation with (ELVIRA I)
• Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftforschung (DIW), Berlin
• ifo-Institut für Wirtschaftforschung, München

Duration:  

• ELVIRA I January 1995 - December 1996

• ELVIRA II April 1997 - June 2000

Funding source: BMWi

Subject of project: GMD/PTF 

Publications:

• Stempfhuber, Max; Hellweg, Heiko; Schaefer, André (2002): ELVIRA: User Friendly Retrieval of Heterogenous Data in Market Research. S. 299 - 304. In: Callaos, Nagib; Hernandez-Encinas, Luis; Yetim, Fahri (Hrsg.): SCI 2002: The 6th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics; July 14-18, 2002, Orlando, USA; Proceedings, Vol. I: Information Systems Development I. Orlando: TPA Publ.
• Kim, Do-Wan; Krause, Jürgen; Mandl, Thomas; Schaefer, André; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (2001): Usability Design for Information Systems for the Retrieval of Texts and Numerical Data. S. 163-168. In: HCI International 2001: 9th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction jointly with 4th International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics; 1st International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction; Symposium on Human Interface (Japan) 2001; Poster Sessions - Abridged Proceedings. New Orleans
• Kim, Do-Wan; Krause, Jürgen; Mandl, Thomas; Schaefer, André; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (2001): Software-ergonomic Solutions of Information Retrieval Systems for Texts and Facts Data. In: Journal of the Institute of Signal Processing and Systems, Nr. 1, S. 80-87
• Eibl, Maximilian; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (2001): Multimodale Recherchezugänge: Neue Wege bei der Konzeption der integrierten Informationssysteme ELVIRA und GESINE. S. 327-335. In: Oberquelle, Horst; Oppermann, Reinhard; Krause, Jürgen (Hrsg.): Mensch & Computer 2001: 1. Fachübergreifende Konferenz. Stuttgart: Teubner. (Berichte des German Chapter of the ACM; Bd. 55)
• Scheinost, Ulrich; Haas, Hansjörg; Krause, Jürgen; Lindlbauer, Jürg D. (Hrsg.) (1998). Marktanalyse und Marktprognose. Das ZVEI-Verbandsinformationssystem ELVIRA. Forschungsberichte Band 2, Informationszentrum Sozialwissenschaften, Bonn
• Krause, Jürgen; Mandl, Thomas; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (1997): The Development of an Online Economic Information System. S. 51. In: HCI International '97: 7th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction jointly with 13th Symposium on Human Interface (Japan), San Francisco, California USA, 24-29 August 1997; poster sessions: abridged proceedings. San Francisco
• Krause, Jürgen; Mandl, Thomas; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (1997): Text-Fakten-Integration in ELVIRA. Bonn: IZ Sozialwissenschaften. 27 S. (IZ-Arbeitsbericht; Nr. 12)
• Krause, Jürgen; Mandl, Thomas; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (1997): Das Verbandsinformationssystem ELVIRA II: Projektskizze. Bonn: IZ Sozialwissenschaften. 56 S. (IZ-Arbeitsbericht; Nr. 11)
• Krause, Jürgen; Mandl, Thomas; Stempfhuber, Maximilian (1996): Design des ersten Prototypen des ZVEI-Verbandsinformationssystems ELVIRA. Bonn: IZ Sozialwissenschaften. 31 S. (IZ-Arbeitsbericht; Nr. 4)
• Krause, Jürgen (1996): Visualisierung und graphische Benutzungsoberflächen. Bonn: IZ Sozialwissenschaften. 40 S. (IZ-Arbeitsbericht; Nr. 3)