The Internet has led to an increase in the quantity and diversity of information available for searching. Furthermore, users are bombarded by a constant barrage of electronic messages in the form of e-mail, faxes, etc. This has led to a plethora of search engines, "intelligent" agents, etc., that aim to help users in their quest for relevant information, or shield them against irrelevant information. All these systems aim to identify the potentially relevant information in among a large pool of available information. No unifying underlying theory for information discovery systems exists as yet. The aim of this article is to provide a logic-based framework for information discovery, and relate this to the traditional field of information retrieval. Furthermore, the often ignored user receives special emphasis. In information discovery, a good understanding of a user's (sometimes hidden) needs and beliefs is essential. We will develop a logic-based approach to express the mechanics of information discovery, while the pragmatics are based on an analysis of the underlying informational semantics of information carriers and information needs of users.
If you know what you are looking for why are you looking and if you do not know what you are looking for how can you find it?
-Old Russian proverb * To whom all correspondence should be addressed.
This work was performed while P. D. Bruza was employed at Queens-