Software Reviews : IdeaFisher Reviewed by Staff Publisher: Fisher Idea Systems Inc.,18881 Von Karman Ground Floor,Irvine,CA 92715 (714-474-8111) Fax [phone] Year of Publication: 1989 Version Reviewed: 3.0 Materials: Nine 3.5-inch disks,78-page spiral-bound manual,plastic case Price: $595 System Requirements: MS-DOS: 512K memory (640K recommended),hard disk with at least 7 MB free space;printer,color monitor helpful but not required. Macintosh: 1 MB RAM,7 MB free hard disk space Effectiveness: Good User-Friendliness: Excellent Documentation: Good

Abstract

This is a package for decision support and brainstorming that provides a sort of super-thesaurus. It results from a twelve-year, $3.5 million project which generated over 700,000 direct associations for over 60,000 words and phrases organized into 387 topical categories in 28 major groups. In addition there is a database of over 3,000 questions which can be used to clarify objectives and evaluate goals. IdeaFisher can generate an enormous number of associations which go far beyond those found in an electronic thesaurus. However, in any specific social science field the associations generated are sparse and biased toward journalistic or public perceptions. The marketing origins of the product are obvious, and no attempt has been made to incorporate terms and associations such as would be found in any dictionary of sociology (or any other social science). Nonetheless, some students and even faculty may find it useful for brainstorming purposes. Moreover, the program is very user-friendly, fast, and fun to use even if the associations generated are not informed by social science literature and terminology.