Evaluating Collaborative Information Seeking Interfaces with a Search-Oriented Inspection Method and Re-framed Information Seeking Theory

Despite the many implicit references to the social contexts of search within Information Seeking and Retrieval research, there has been relatively little work that has specifically investigated the additional requirements for collaborative information seeking interfaces. Here, we re-assess a recent analytical inspection framework, designed for individual information seeking, and then apply it to evaluate a recent collaborative information seeking interface: SearchTogether. The framework was built upon two models of solitary information seeking, and so as part of the re-assessment we first re-frame the models for collaborative contexts. We re-frame a model of search tactics, providing revised definitions that consider known collaborators. We then re-frame a model of user profiles to analyse support for different group dynamics. After presenting an analysis of SearchTogether, we reflect on its accuracy, showing that the framework identified 8 known truths, 8 new insights, and no known-to-be-untrue insights into the design. We conclude that the framework a) can still be applied to collaborative information seeking interfaces; b) can successfully produce additional requirements for collaborative information seeking interfaces; and c) can successfully model different dynamics of collaborating searchers

The effect of task type on preferred element types in an XML‐based retrieval system

This article examines the influence of task type on the users' preferred level of document elements (full articles, sections, or subsections) during interaction with an XML-version of Wikipedia. We found that in general articles and subsections seemed to be the most valuable elements for our test subjects. For information-gathering tasks, this tendency was stronger, whereas for fact-finding tasks, the sections seemed to play a more important role. We assume from this that users select different information search strategies for the two task types. When dealing with fact-finding tasks, users seem more likely to use one single element as an answer, while when they do information gathering, they pick information from several elements

Supporting interactive summarization for explainable exploratory search

Exploratory search is characterised by user uncertainty with respect to search domain and information seeking goals. This uncertainty can negatively impact users’ abilities to assess the quality of search results, causing them to scroll through more documents than necessary and struggle to give consistent relevance feedback. As users’ information needs are assumed to be highly dynamic and expected to evolve over time, successful searches can be indistinguishable from those that have drifted erroneously away from their original search intent. Indeed, given their lack of domain knowledge, searchers may be slow, or even unable, to recognise when search results have become skewed towards another topic. With these issues in mind, we designed and implemented an interactive search system which integrated a keyword summaries algorithm, Exploratory Search Captions (ESC) to support users in exploratory search. This thesis investigated into the usefulness of ESC in terms of user experience, user behaviour and also explored impact of design decision in terms of user satisfaction. We evaluated the ESC system with a user study in the context of exploratory search of scientific literature in Computer Science. According to the user study results, participants almost unanimously preferred the retrieval system that incorporated ESC; and the presence of captions dramatically impacts user behaviour: users issue more queries, investigate fewer documents per query, but see more documents overall. We demonstrated the usefulness of ESC, the improved usability of ESC system, and the positive impact of our design decisions

Data-Seeking Behaviour in the Social Sciences

Purpose: Publishing research data for reuse has become good practice in recent years. However, not much is known on how researchers actually find said data. In this exploratory study, we observe the information-seeking behaviour of social scientists searching for research data to reveal impediments and identify opportunities for data search infrastructure. Methods: We asked 12 participants to search for research data and observed them in their natural environment. The sessions were recorded. Afterwards, we conducted semi-structured interviews to get a thorough understanding of their way of searching. From the recordings, we extracted the interaction behaviour of the participants and analysed the spoken words both during the search task and the interview by creating affinity diagrams. Results: We found that literature search is more closely intertwined with dataset search than previous literature suggests. Both the search itself and the relevance assessment are very complex, and many different strategies are employed, including the creatively "misuse" of existing tools, since no appropriate tools exist or are unknown to the participants. Conclusion: Many of the issues we found relate directly or indirectly to the application of the FAIR principles, but some, like a greater need for dataset search literacy, go beyond that. Both infrastructure and tools offered for dataset search could be tailored more tightly to the observed work processes, particularly by offering more interconnectivity between datasets, literature, and other relevant materials

Assessing information literacy programmes using information search tasks

The aim of this article is to present information search tasks as an alternative to standardized tests for the assessment of scholarly information literacy (IL). The article describes how a task taxonomy and scoring rubrics were developed as a basis for the construction of standardized search tasks. Based on this taxonomy, sample tasks were created and used in an evaluation study in which an IL instruction programme was scrutinised. In this study, the tasks were applied alongside with a standardized IL test to determine their convergent validity. The results show that IL can be assessed using information search tasks in a reliable and conceptually as well as ecologically valid way. To our knowledge, this is the first publication using information search tasks for the assessment of IL with this degree of standardisation. The task taxonomy, sample tasks, and scoring rubrics are included and can be used by practitioners to create information search tasks tailored to their needs

Perceptions and Uses of Online Information Sources

학위논문 (석사)-- 서울대학교 융합과학기술대학원 : 융합과학부(디지털정보융합전공), 2013. 8. 이중식.In the age of a society infused with digital technologies and information, the Millennial undergraduates who have grown up with the Web for their entire lives can easily and readily access a wide range of online information sources in relation to their needs in learning. However, in the vast amount of information available online, it is challenging to locate, evaluate, and select quality information that the students are looking for. Despite efforts in helping students to select the optimal sources for acquiring appropriate information for their learning, research indicates that students still often turn to the sources they prefer rather than those more suitable for their needs. In order to better understand and acknowledge the information seeking behaviour of undergraduate students in the Web environment, this study sought to explore the students perception, use, and evaluation of online information sources for their learning. Data were gathered using a mixed-methods approach: survey research followed by Web history log data collection with semi-structured diary. An online survey was administered to 189 undergraduates at Seoul National University in South Korea. Among the survey respondents, 25 students participated in the Web log data collection, where a total of 383 source visits related to learning were captured. The results of data analysis reveal that the factors of accuracy and authority are taken most importantly in the selection of online information sources for learning, and the learning-related sources undergraduates perceive to be most accurate and authoritative are scholarly databases and library OPAC. It also reaffirms a strong preference on the easily accessible and usable information sources, such as domestic search portals and foreign search engines. It is discovered that the students are employing more contemporary sources, such as blogs and community sites as well in response to their information needs in learning. The participants descriptions on their use of sources indicate that they do not only consider the ease of use and accessibility or the accuracy/authority when selecting online sources for learning but also expects to acquire diverse informational perspectives, visualized or simplified presentation of information, and word-of mouth information from the Web. Additionally, different types of information needs and seeking modes associated with learning tasks are identified from the data. Finally, the study confirms the discrepancy among the perceived values and the actual uses of online information sources in the context of learning. The findings of this study explain how undergraduate students evaluate and perceive online information sources for learning, and how the students are using the Web to assist themselves with their learning-related needs. Such understanding of undergraduate students use of various online information sources in the context of learning will contribute to the improvement of information seeking of undergraduates for their learning in the Web environment.TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 LIST OF TABLES 9 LIST OF FIGURES 10 ABSTRACT 11 1. INTRODUCTION 14 1.1 Background 14 1.2 Research Goal and Objectives 16 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 18 2.1 Information Seeking Behaviour 18 2.1.1 Information Needs and Theoretical Models 19 2.1.2 Information Seeking on the Web 25 2.2 Information Seeking Behaviour of Undergraduates 27 2.3 Selection and Evaluation of Information Sources 30 2.3.1 Information Literacy 30 2.3.2 Online Information Source 32 2.3.3 Source Evaluation Criteria 33 2.4 Summary of Literature Review 35 3. METHODOLOGY 37 3.1 Research Design 37 3.2 Research Questions 39 3.3 Conceptual Framework 40 3.4 Data Collection 41 3.4.1 Sampling of Participants 41 3.4.2 Preliminary Study 42 3.4.3 Survey 46 3.4.4 Web History Log with Semi-structured Diary 53 3.5 Data Analysis 57 4. RESULTS 59 4.1 Perceptions on Online Information Sources for Learning 60 4.1.1 Evaluation Criteria for Selecting Online Sources for Learning 60 4.1.2 Perceived Quality of Online Information Sources for Learning 61 4.1.3 Perceived Use of Online Information Sources for Learning 64 4.2 Realities on Online Information Sources for Learning 67 4.2.1 Learning Tasks and Associated Information Needs 68 4.2.2 Information Seeking Modes by Information Needs in Learning 70 4.2.3 Actual Uses of Online Information Sources for Learning 74 4.3 Between the Perceptions and Realities 79 4.3.1 Relations among the Perceived Quality, Perceived Use and the Actual Use 79 4.3.2 Topological Map of Online Information Sources in the Context of Learning 80 5. CONCLUSION 83 5.1 Summary of Findings 83 5.2 Implications of the Study 87 5.2.1 Academic Implications 87 5.2.2 Practical Implications 89 5.3 Limitations of the Study 90 REFERENCES 92 Appendix A: Online Survey Questionnaire 102 Appendix B: Guideline for Web History Log Collection and Diary Entry 106Maste

Percepciones sobre la utilidad de google académico como herramienta para la búsqueda de información educativa por estudiantes del curso arte y tecnología de primer año del nivel pregrado de una universidad privada de Lima

El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar las percepciones de un grupo de estudiantes sobre la utilidad de Google Académico como herramienta para la búsqueda de información educativa. Los sujetos de estudio fueron 24 alumnos de primer año del nivel pregrado matriculados en el curso Arte y Tecnología durante el segundo semestre del año 2016 de una universidad privada de Lima. El nivel de la investigación fue descriptivo - exploratorio y el enfoque que se desarrolló fue cualitativo. Asimismo, los instrumentos que sirvieron para el acopio de información fueron dos: encuestas de preguntas abiertas y entrevistas. En cuanto a los resultados de la investigación, los estudiantes percibieron a Google Académico como una herramienta fácil y útil para buscar información académica en Internet. No obstante, también consideraron que la herramienta era poco eficiente para brindar la información específica que necesitaban para realizar sus trabajos de investigación bibliográfica, así como la redacción de monografías. Esto último se relaciona, estrechamente, con la concepción que los estudiantes tienen acerca de la actividad de búsqueda de información: una actividad técnica, delegada a las actividades de un sistema, antes que a un proceso social y cognitivo, que depende, sobre todo, de la actividad de análisis, selección, organización e interacción entre la persona y el sistema de información.Tesi

Effects of content marketing on attitude formation in the South African energy drink market

The rapid technological innovation of the last decade has altered the way people understand and communicate information. The internet specifically has made possible unprecedented access to information which has added another dimension to consumer and marketing practitioner behaviour. The most salient consequence of these developments in the marketing communication arena has been the transition from domination by the marketing practitioner to that of the consumer. More precisely, the huge product variety and the access to non-commercial information in terms of user-generated content gives the consumer incredible autonomy. Facing these circumstances, marketing practitioners are adjusting their strategies in producing informative or entertaining content to surround their product in order to impact the new complex, user-driven market. This specific type of content driven marketing is referred to as content marketing. While the idea of providing useful content around the product/brand is a well-known marketing strategy, consistent technological innovation enables marketers to approach the consumer in a different way. Encouraged by a proliferation of user-generated content, marketing practitioners have already embraced content marketing and established a considerable case series of effective examples. Nevertheless, a scholarly analysis of the impact of content marketing on attitude formation has not yet occurred. Thus the goal of this thesis is to unpack content marketing, and explore its impact on the consumer in order to locate content marketing within Integrated Marketing Communications. Specifically, this study investigates how consumers perceive the sponsor through content marketing, and if emotions triggered by this content influence consumer attitudes towards the sponsor. In order to substantiate the theoretical discourse with practical evidence, a video from the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull serves as a research object and real-world example. By demonstrating the particular strengths of the medium, this thesis aims to establish an academic foundation for the analysis of content marketing, and contribute to the content marketing renaissance

An analytical inspection framework for evaluating the search tactics and user profiles supported by information seeking interfaces

Searching is something we do everyday both in digital and physical environments. Whether we are searching for books in a library or information on the web, search is becoming increasingly important. For many years, however, the standard for search in software has been to provide a keyword search box that has, over time, been embellished with query suggestions, Boolean operators, and interactive feedback. More recent research has focused on designing search interfaces that better support exploration and learning. Consequently, the aim of this research has been to develop a framework that can reveal to designers how well their search interfaces support different styles of searching behaviour.The primary contribution of this research has been to develop a usability evaluation method, in the form of a lightweight analytical inspection framework, that can assess both search designs and fully implemented systems. The framework, called Sii, provides three types of analyses: 1) an analysis of the amount of support the different features of a design provide; 2) an analysis of the amount of support provided for 32 known search tactics; and 3) an analysis of the amount of support provided for 16 different searcher profiles, such as those who are finding, browsing, exploring, and learning. The design of the framework was validated by six independent judges, and the results were positively correlated against the results of empirical user studies. Further, early investigations showed that Sii has a learning curve that begins at around one and a half hours, and, when using identical analysis results, different evaluators produce similar design revisions.For Search experts, building interfaces for their systems, Sii provides a Human-Computer Interaction evaluation method that addresses searcher needs rather than system optimisation. For Human-Computer Interaction experts, designing novel interfaces that provide search functions, Sii provides the opportunity to assess designs using the knowledge and theories generated by the Information Seeking community. While the research reported here is under controlled environments, future work is planned that will investigate the use of Sii by independent practitioners on their own projects