CODA: A Concept Organization and Development Aid for the Research Environment,
Abstract
The hypothesis of this document is that computers can aid the policy research process by acting as a long term memory (storage and retrieval facility) for the researcher's growing data base and changing concepts. The realization of this hypothesis in the form of computer software specifications required constant referral back to the research process and an appreciation of the limitations of modern computers. The resulting system was called CODA (for Concept Organization and Development Aid) and that system is the topic of this paper. The authors describe the prototype system built for testing this hypothesis, the system's capabilities and limitations, some of the details of its user interface, what they have learned both from the building and testing of the system, and, finally, some thoughts on further capabilities that appear amenable to computer implementation and that might aid the policy researcher. The CODA program most properly qualifies as a file management menu-driven system aimed at small data based and a very limited number of users. It is a system designed and implemented by users (policy researchers) for testing some concepts about the users' environment. As such, there are some specific things that CODA is NOT. It is not a full data base management system for general use, it is not particularly suited for large data bases or numerical processing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA154240
Entities
People
- J. A. Dewar
- J. J. Gillogly
Organizations
- RAND Corporation