Interdependence of PRECIS role operators: A quantitiative analysis of their associations

Statistical analysis of the frequency of application of a pair of role operators within the input strings, where the terms are set according to the context‐dependent order, would not only help us to determine the concept co‐occurrences within the subject literature, but also to study the amount of interdependency among the role operators. This article analyzes the associations among different role operators quantitatively by taking the input strings from 200 abstracts each related to the subject fields of taxation, genetic psychology, and Shakespearian drama and subjecting them to χ2—test. The concepts specifying key system occurred significantly with those of action in both taxation and genetic psychology; whereas in the former the action concepts remained independent of agent concepts, they showed significant associations in the latter. The subject literature of genetic psychology contained associations of parts/properties with concepts specifying key systems, actions, and agents more than that of taxation. Only action and agent concepts of taxation were associated with its parts/properties. The concepts specifying dates as difference showed a good alliance with action concepts in Shakespearian drama. The paper also discusses significant associations by other differencing operators and connectives. Though no generalizations have been made in this paper, it hopes to throw some light on the nature of concepts within the subject literature as well as on the relationships of different role operators for their effective and efficient application in the future. © 1986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.