Independently of the activities of the CBCC, Its objectives having genesis in needs differing from 

 those which the CBCC was established to satisfy. The TPRC has a vigorous program and has 

 developed a coding system for thirty thermophysical properties of all matter. Information about this 

 coding system and the procedures and objectives of the Thermophysical Properties Research Center 

 should be addressed to the Director of the Center, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 

 Lafayette, Indiana. 



CBCC Experience in Correlation : 



The Introduction explained the objectives of the Center, the ultimate objective being the 

 correlation of chemical structures (and, eventually, physical properties of chemicals) with responses 

 of biological systems. 



The CBCC staff earnestly looked forward to seeing correlation studies attempted by investigators, 

 using the information collected by the CBCC. It is a disappointment that, to date, no correlative 

 studies of the scale originally envisioned have been performed with the file of information collected 

 since 1951. The immense task of creating the information file has not permitted the CBCC biologists 

 themselves to use the files for original correlative investigations and, for reasons not all of which are 

 understood, application has not been made to the Center for such studies by other persons and agencies. 

 It has been suggested that, for any intensive correlative study, a special project should be established 

 for coding into the CBCC files all data of the type to be correlated. 



Neither did time permit accomplishing another important aspect, the study and compilation of 

 specific patterns of retrieval of CBCC coded information, based on coding and machine handling 

 patterns. Requests to the Center for information from its files mostly require simple machine sorting 

 or even only manual selection, but a certain percentage have involved making associations which 

 required more broad programming of retrieval and collation. 



Qualifications of Coders; Residence vs. Non-residence of Coders : 



This particular aspect is to be discussed, because it has played an important role in the 

 Center's efficient functioning and because the Center's experience Is expected to be of some value 

 in the deliberations for establishing other coding projects. 



The Center experimented at one time with employing students of local universities for coding 

 at the Center under supervision. It also tried persons who had had less training and experience than 

 did the coders the Center finally used. These experiments were comparatively short lived. In each 

 case, the quality of coding was such that the arrangement was obviously impractical. All the coders 

 of the Center's last five or six years were professionally trained biologists, most of whom were not 

 residents of the Washington, D. C. area and who found it convenient to spend part or all of their 

 time coding for the Center. 



Since 1952, the number of non-resident coders remained fairly constant, somewhere between 

 ten and fifteen, each submitting monthly a Set of coding varying In quantity according to their 

 schedules. 



The procedures for acceptance as a coder have been described in the section discussing selec- 

 tion and coding of information (Appendix A, CBCC Procedures). From the CBCC experience, two ob- 

 servations about finding and training of coders are especially worth mentioning. First, persons with 

 qualifications for being good coders and who coincidentally have access to the literature and can 

 discipline themselves to a regular schedule are not legion. The CBCC had the good fortune to have a 

 number of such persons who remained generally consistent in their work for the Center till its close. 

 It is not to be taken for granted, in establishing a coding program demanding special coders, that 

 finding satisfactory coders, training them, and holding them, as non-resident personnel, is always a 

 simple matter. Secondly, the CBCC experience has been that a minimum period of six months to a 

 year is needed for adequate training of a coder to a point of reasonable efficiency and dependability 

 in coding chemical-biological test data. 



The problems inherent in non-residence of coders demand some consideration. Many factors 

 must be balanced in deciding which procedure a project can best support- - non-resident coders, 

 demanding a full complement of resident clerical staff to maintain records and a professional staff 

 member's time corresponding with them, as opposed to salaried resident coders. It is impossible 

 here to suggest all the determining factors for this for any given program, but some of the difficulties 

 encountered in the CBCC system and described in the following paragraphs might be enlightening. 



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