NORMATIVE INSTRUCTIONS

FROM INDEXING TO INFORMATION RETRIEVAL IN LEXPGE

Abstract

Organization, representation, storage, and retrieval go hand in hand in an information retrieval system. In this regard, there is the LexPGE database, maintained by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Pará, which indexes state legislative acts. Given this context, the study aimed to analyze the conceptual relationship between the search term used in a query and the documents retrieved from LexPGE, based on thematic representation. The methodology employs a qualitative approach at the exploratory-descriptive level, utilizing documentary research, document analysis, and semantic content analysis. We also manually extracted the most representative terms from six of the seven retrieved documents—the normative instructions—using the search term “environment,” in addition to other inclusion and exclusion criteria. As a result, the study revealed that, based on a full reading of the retrieved documents, other terms related to the thematic content could be listed as descriptors, thereby providing greater conceptual representativeness. Finally, it is suggested that an authorized list of indexed terms be created for internal use by the PGE-PA, with a view toward future retrieval by external users, thereby making the search more precise and relational.