7C MUDP IE no. 9 
091 
ST JR e f 
Museum and University Data? Program and Information Exchange 
COMPUTER USE IN COMPILATION OF SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES 
F. C. Kull, Burroughs Wellcome and Company, Tuckahoe, New York, has submitted 
a summary volume of the l, Scientific papers published from 1930 to 1968 by the 
Wellcome Research Laboratories,” 1969, 292 pp., which demonstrates the use of an 
IBM 360-40 in production of a listing of papers followed by an alphabetical index 
of authors, a "Keyword” index based on the titles, and finally a list of words in 
titles ignored by the computer in compiling the keyword index* Persons interested 
in the technique and the output are invited to contact Dr. Kull. 
COMPUTER METHODS IN PLANT SYSTEMATICS 
A two-year project at Michigan State titled 11 Computer Methods in Plant 
Systematics for Classroom Instruction and Associated Research” has been funded 
by NSF. The project is directed by John H. Beaman, with Stanwyn G. Shetler, 
Smithsonian Institution, as Cooperator and Larry E. Morse, M.S.U., a principal 
student participant. Lawrence T. Alexander, M.S.U., will serve as a systems 
development expert in the design and analysis of instructional systems. 
Curricular d evelopment 
To our knowledge there are at present no formal university courses in which 
the computer is used as an aid in the identification of a plant or animal. Our 
system, utilizing computerized matrices of taxa and characters, offers free 
choice in character selection and simultaneous use of any or all characters in the 
identification process. This computerized identification procedure also has the 
capability for suggesting character possibilities to the user that he might not 
have otherwise considered. 
On-line computers make possible a dialogue between user and machine, which is 
essential to the most effective application of this and probably any other com¬ 
puterized identification system. Identification routines can be programmed to 
allow the computer to lead the student in making the identification and correct 
him when he makes a mistake. Used in this manner the student and the system can 
engage in an interaction which stimulates the student*s interest in the identifi¬ 
cation process. 
Each spring quarter Michigan State University offers a junior-level course 
(Botany 318) in plant identification and systematics. In 1969 this course had an 
enrollment of about 250 students. The lectures consider nomenclature, evolution, 
and characteristics of important families, while the laborabories are concerned 
primarily with the identification of trees and shrubs in winter condition (using 
Harlow*s Twig Key ) and the spring flora of Michigan (using Fassett*s Spring Flora 
of Wisconsin ). Computerized identification matrices are being prepared to be 
compatible with the texts, enabling a ready comparison between the new and tradi- 
