Electronic Publishing: Research Issues for Academic Librarians and Users

published or submitted for publicatio

Affective feedback: an investigation into the role of emotions in the information seeking process

User feedback is considered to be a critical element in the information seeking process, especially in relation to relevance assessment. Current feedback techniques determine content relevance with respect to the cognitive and situational levels of interaction that occurs between the user and the retrieval system. However, apart from real-life problems and information objects, users interact with intentions, motivations and feelings, which can be seen as critical aspects of cognition and decision-making. The study presented in this paper serves as a starting point to the exploration of the role of emotions in the information seeking process. Results show that the latter not only interweave with different physiological, psychological and cognitive processes, but also form distinctive patterns, according to specific task, and according to specific user

Subject searching requirements : the HILT II experience

The HILT Phase II project aimed to develop a pilot terminologies server with a view to improving cross-sectoral information retrieval. In order to inform this process, it was first necessary to examine how a representative group of users approached a range of information-related tasks. This paper focuses on exploratory interviews conducted to investigate the proposed ideal and actual strategies of a group of 30 users in relation to eight separate information tasks. In addition, users were asked to give examples of search terms they may employ and to describe how they would formulate search queries in each scenario. The interview process undertaken and the results compiled are outlined, and associated implications for the development of a pilot terminologies server are discussed

Understanding Novice Users\u27 Help-seeking Behavior in Getting Started with Digital Libraries: Influence of Learning Styles

Users\u27 information needs have to be fulfilled by providing a well-designed system. However, end users usually encounter various problems when interacting with information retrieval (IR) systems and it is even more so for novice users. The most common problem reported from previous research is that novice users do not know how to get started even though most IR systems contain help mechanisms. There is a deep gap between the system\u27s help function and the user\u27s need. In order to fill the gap and provide a better interacting environment, it is necessary to have a clearer picture of the problem and understand what the novice users\u27 behaviors are in using IR systems. The purpose of this study is to identify novice users\u27 help-seeking behaviors while they get started with digital libraries and how their learning styles lead to these behaviors. While a novice user is engaged in the process of interacting with an IR system, he/she may easily encounter problematic situations and require some kind of help in the search process. Novice users need to learn how to use a new IR environment by interacting with help features to fulfill their searching needs. However, many research studies have demonstrated that the existing help systems in IR systems cannot fully satisfy users\u27 needs. In addition to the system side problems, users\u27 characteristics, such as preference in using help, also play major roles in the decision of using system help. When viewing help-seeking as a learning activity, learning style is an influential factor that would lead to different help-seeking behaviors. Learning style deeply influences how students process information in learning activities, including learning performance, learning strategy, and learning preferences. Existing research does not seem to consider learning style and help-seeking together; therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the effects of learning styles on help-seeking interactions in the information seeking and searching environment. The study took place in an academic setting, and recruited 60 participants representing students from different education levels and disciplines. Data were collected by different methods, including pre-questionnaire, cognitive preference questionnaire, think-aloud protocol, transaction log, and interview. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed to analyze data in the study. Qualitative methods were first applied to explore novice users\u27 help-seeking approaches as well as to illustrate how learning styles lead to these approaches. Quantitative methods were followed to test whether or not learning style would affect help-seeking behaviors and approaches. Results of this study highlight two findings. First, this study identifies eight types of help features used by novice users with different learning styles. The quantitative evidence also verifies the effect of learning styles on help-seeking interactions with help features. Based on the foundation of the analysis of help features, the study further identified fifteen help-seeking approaches applied by users with different learning styles in digital libraries. The broad triangulation approach assumed in this study not only enables the illustration of novice users\u27 diversified help-seeking approaches but also explores and confirms the relationships between different dimensions of learning styles and help-seeking behaviors. The results also suggest that the designs and delivery of IR systems, including digital libraries, need to support different learning styles by offering more engaging processing layouts, diversified input formats, as well as easy-to-perceive and easy-to-understand modes of help features

RSS Feeds, Browsing and End-User Engagement

Despite the vast amount of research that has been devoted separately to the topics of browsing and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) aggregation architecture, little is known about how end-users engage with RSS feeds and how they browse while using a feed aggregate. This study explores the browsing behaviors end-users exhibit when using RSS and Atom feeds. The researcher analyzed end-users’ browsing experiences and discusses browsing variations. The researcher observed, tested, and interviewed eighteen (N=18) undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee to determine how end-users engage with RSS feeds. This study evaluates browsing using two variations of tasks, (1) an implicit task with no final goal and (2) an explicit task with a final goal. The researcher observed the participants complete the two tasks and conducted exit interviews, which addressed the end-users’ experiences with Google Reader and provided further explanation of browsing behaviors. The researcher analyzed the browsing behaviors based upon Bates’ (2007) definitions and characteristics of browsing. The results of this exploratory research provide insights into end-user interaction with RSS feeds

Fruitful Research: A Biblical Perspective on the Affective Dimension of Research

Librarians and professors in Christian colleges and universities can work collaboratively to help reduce the stress and anxiety that student researchers experience as they carry out their undergraduate or graduate research. This collaboration focuses on understanding the affective dimension of the research process and relating the research process to St. Paul’s list of nine fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The student researcher who can view the research process within the frame of these nine dispositions will have additional resources with which to integrate God’s presence in the research process, thereby reducing research anxiety

Understanding “influence”: An exploratory study of academics’ process of knowledge construction through iterative and interactive information seeking

The motivation for this study is to better understand the searching and sensemaking processes undertaken to solve exploratory tasks for which people lack pre-existing frames. To investigate people’s strategies for that type of task, we focused on “influence” tasks because, although they appear to be unfamiliar, they arise in much academic discourse, at least tacitly. This qualitative study reports the process undertaken by academics of different levels of seniority to complete exploratory search tasks that involved identifying influential members of their academic community and “rising stars, ” and to identify similar roles in an unfamiliar academic community. 11 think-aloud sessions followed by semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the role of specific and general domain expertise in the process of information seeking and knowledge construction. Academics defined and completed the task through an iterative and interactive process of seeking and sensemaking, during which they constructed an understanding of their communities and determined qualities of “being influential”. Elements of the Data/Frame Theory of Sensemaking (Klein et al., 2007) were used as sensitising theoretical constructs. The study shows that both external and internal knowledge resources are essential to define a starting point or frame, make and support decisions, and experience satisfaction. Ill-defined or non-existent initial frames may cause unsubstantial or arbitrary decisions, and feelings of uncertainty and lack of confidence

The impact of concept map visualizations on the information behavior, perceptions of performance, learning and use with novices in the information retrieval context

In examining undergraduate students in the information retrieval environment for the impact of computer generated concept maps, two primary research questions were considered: 1) what is the impact of display type on the novice searcher’s information behavior; and 2) what is the impact of different display types on the user’s perceptions of performance, knowledge and overall use of the system.Sixty participants in this experiment were given hypothetical information needs on two different medical topics (cholesterol, depression). Participants’ explored one of three interactive visualization displays using these medical topics, answered a pre- and post-test instrument and then completed a final questionnaire on their perceptions of the displays. Different types of inferential statistical tests were used to examine the research questions. When appropriate, factorial ANOVAs, mixed between-within ANOVAs, and chi square tests of independence were conducted.Five main findings resulted from this research: 1) for all display types (LIST, SOM, PFNET) there is an increase in the number of participant search terms and in the incorporation of MeSH terminology from the visualizations following exposure to those displays; 2) there is a relationship between the display type and the interface level from which PFNET participants chose terms; 3) searchers’ feelings of confidence, satisfaction, success, and relevance increased across all groups after system interaction; however, pretest feelings of confidence and satisfaction seem to be dependent upon the participant’s self-reported prior knowledge of the search topic; 4) feelings of confidence and satisfaction on the topic participants reported less pre-test knowledge on (cholesterol) shifted to match post-test ratings of confidence and satisfaction on the topic they had more pre-test knowledge on (depression); and 5) participants rated the PFNET system more visually appealing, easier to understand and more likely to be used in the future if given the option. Overall findings suggest that all displays were useful to the participants in this experiment and that the PFNET display was particularly useful for the novice searcher.Ph.D., Information Science -- Drexel University, 200