Co-term and social networks analysis for the generation of subject maps

La mejora de las capacidades de búsqueda y de las interfaces de los opacs sigue siendo uno de los principales desafíos para las bibliotecas, especialmente en lo que respecta al acceso por materias. Las interfaces visuales pueden facilitar la recuperación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es explorar si la combinación de técnicas de análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales resulta ser una metodología válida para la generación de mapas temáticos de la colección. La principal conclusión es que el método es válido, y que los mapas obtenidos podrían servir como interfaz visual para el acceso por materias. También es útil para detectar problemas en los criterios de indización y contribuir a la mejora de la calidad de la descripción temática del conjunto documentalImprovement of the interfaces and search capacities of the opacs continues to be one of the main challenges for libraries, especially with regard to searching by subject. The visual interfaces can help with retrieval. This paper explores the combination of co-term analysis techniques with social networks for the generation of subject maps of collections. The main conclusion is that the methodology applied is valid, and that the maps could be used for browsing and subject retrieval. It would also be useful for improving the quality of indexingFil: Miguel, Sandra. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina

Development of information search expertise: Research students' knowledge of databases

Purpose - This paper sets out to report on a study of 12 postgraduate research students' development of information search expertise. It focuses on students' perceived importance and growth of knowledge of different databases as they progress through their studies. Design/methodology/approach - Taking an in-depth longitudinal approach, this study makes use of surveys, direct observations of students' searching of various databases, students' verbalization of their thoughts while searching databases and interviews during a one-year period. The paper focuses on analyzing the data from surveying and interviewing the students with regard to their use of databases. Findings - It was found that many students were initially unfamiliar with many of the databases important to them and that the familiarity developed during the year contributed importantly to their development of information search expertise. This suggests that much work has to be done to inform and instruct students about these "treasures". Research limitations/implications - This study adopted an in-depth longitudinal approach to study 12 students. Although it reveals various interesting observations and findings, it lacks the power of generalization due to its small sample size. Based on the results of this study, it would be meaningful to carry out further studies with a bigger sample to see whether the findings identified in this study will still hold true. Originality/value - Based on the findings, this paper further identifies features that may increase the usefulness of a journal database and makes suggestions on ways to improve library support for the effective use of databases.postprin

Separating the knowledge layers: Cognitive analysis of search knowledge through hierarchical goal decompositions

Hierarchical goal decompositions have proved to be a useful method to make explicit the knowledge required by users to perform tasks in a wide range of applications such as computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems. This analysis method progressively decomposes a given task starting from the task layer on the top of the decomposition, to the keystroke layer at the bottom. The analysis enables a close inspection of the knowledge required to perform the task at each layer of the decomposition. In this paper we show how the method of hierarchical goal decomposition can be used to understand more precisely the knowledge that is required to perform information search tasks. The analysis pinpoints: (1) the critical strategies in the intermediate layers of knowledge that are known by experts searchers; (2) why such knowledge is difficult to acquire by novice searchers; (3) how the analysis provides testable predictions of behavior based on the acquisition of different types of knowledge. We conclude by discussing the advantages provided by hierarchical goal decompositions, and how such an approach can lead to the design of systems and training.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34559/1/1450390122_ftp.pd

Co-term and social networks analysis for the generation of subject maps

Improvement of the interfaces and search capacities of the opacs continues to be one of the main challenges for libraries, especially with regard to searching by subject. The visual interfaces can help with retrieval. This paper explores the combination of co-term analysis techniques with social networks for the generation of subject maps of collections. The main conclusion is that the methodology applied is valid, and that the maps could be used for browsing and subject retrieval. It would also be useful for improving the quality of indexing.La mejora de las capacidades de búsqueda y de las interfaces de los OPACs sigue siendo uno de los principales desafíos para las bibliotecas, especialmente en lo que respecta al acceso por materias. Las interfaces visuales pueden facilitar la recuperación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es explorar si la combinación de técnicas de análisis de co-términos y de redes sociales resulta ser una metodología válida para la generación de mapas temáticos de la colección. La principal conclusión es que el método es válido, y que los mapas obtenidos podrían servir como interfaz visual para el acceso por materias. También es útil para detectar problemas en los criterios de indización y contribuir a la mejora de la calidad de la descripción temática del conjunto documental.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la EducaciónFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

THE USE OF TAGS FOR BROWSING PURPOSES IN PUBLIC LIBRARY CATALOGS

Public libraries are experimenting within their online catalogs with new means of supporting browsing via tagging systems. Although tagging is promising, research examining the effectiveness of such systems for patrons in this venue is limited. This paper presents results of a research study that examined if tagging in online web-based catalog systems improves browsing. A quasi-experiment was conducted to determine the usefulness of a sample of five online systems using search box verses tagging options to aid in patron searches. Results indicated that tags are useful in advancing the browsability of such catalog systems, but requires further developing to appeal to average patrons and to provide patrons with desired results. Based on the results a theoretical model was developed to aid in further analysis development of potential systems integrating tagging and the usability of these systems. Future studies are anticipated as further developed systems become integrated into web-accessible systems

Usability Testing of the HIVE: A System for Dynamic Access to Multiple Controlled Vocabularies for Automatic Metadata Generation

This paper reports on a usability study testing the HIVE Vocabulary Server (HIVE). The overall research goal was to identify usability issues needing attention in order to improve the effectiveness the HIVE system. This usability study compared results for two targeted user groups: librarians and scientists. The study employed a formal usability testing approach and formative evaluation. Usability test results for the first build of HIVE were positive. Librarians indicated that HIVE is a useful tool and could assist their work. Scientists responded positively about HIVE's support for identifying a greater selection of relevant terms describing their data. The main usability problems identified were related to the absence of adequate information via the HIVE interface. These include the absence of descriptive information about individual HIVE supported vocabularies; lack of evidence about the status of vocabularies during an interaction (was not clear to users if a vocabulary was, closed or opened during a session); and a lack of information indicating the success (or failure) regarding document upload. Recommendations for addressing these problems are presented in the discussion, and may guide further development of HIVE Vocabulary Server

Knowledge organization

Since Svenonius analyzed the research base in bibliographic control in 1990, the intervening years have seen major shifts in the focus of information organization in academic libraries. New technologies continue to reshape the nature and content of catalogs, stretch the boundaries of classification research, and provide new alternatives for the organization of information. Research studies have rigorously analyzed the structure of the Anglo- American Cataloguing Rules using entity-relationship modeling and expanded on the bibliographic and authority relationship research to develop new data models (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records [FRBR] and Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records [FRANAR]). Applied research into the information organization process has led to the development of cataloguing tools and harvesting ap- plications for bibliographic data collection and automatic record creation. A growing international perspective focused research on multilingual subject access, transliteration problems in surrogate records, and user studies to improve Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) displays for large retrieval sets resulting from federated searches. The need to organize local and remote electronic resources led to metadata research that developed general and domain-specific metadata schemes. Ongoing research in this area focuses on record structures and architectural models to enable interoperability among the various schemes and differing application platforms. Research in the area of subject access and classification is strong, covering areas such as vocabulary mapping, automatic facet construction and deconstruction for Web resources, development of expert systems for automatic classifica- tion, dynamically altered classificatory structures linked to domain-specific thesauri, crosscultural conceptual structures in classification, identification of semantic relationships for vocabulary mapped to classification systems, and the expanded use of traditional classification systems as switching languages in the global Web environment. Finally, descriptive research into library and information science (LIS) education and curricula for knowl- edge organization continues. All of this research is applicable to knowledge organization in academic and research libraries. This chapter examines this body of research in depth, describes the research methodologies employed, and identifies areas of lacunae in need of further research

Information-seeking behaviour of physicists and astronomers: an interdisciplinary study.

The study of information-seeking behaviour of scientists has been one of the main concerns of librarians and information scientists since mid twentieth century and yet we need to improve our understanding of their information behaviour in order to maximise the efficiency of information services provided. This thesis studies the information-seeking behaviour of physicists and astronomers with an intradisciplinary approach in order to look at similarities and dissimilarities among the subfields within physics and astronomy. The study also looks at the information-seeking behaviour of people with different academic status and investigates the information-seeking activities of physicists and astronomers in different stages of research projects with the focus of the thesis being research related information-seeking behaviour. Moreover, the research investigates reading behaviour and publishing patterns of physicists and astronomers. The study is a mixed-methods study that uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The population of the study included the staff and PhD students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of University College London. Fifty-six face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted, an online questionnaire survey of 114 respondents (out of 242 sample, 47% response rate) was carried out and 88 information-event cards were completed by participants. The findings of the study showed that although some similarities exist in information-seeking behaviour of people in the different subfields of physics and astronomy, each subfield has its own characteristics. Variations were found with regard to different aspects of information-seeking behaviour including the reliance on e-print archives and journal articles, methods used for keeping up-to-date and methods used for identifying articles. The study showed the importance of human information sources and informal communication in the information-seeking behaviour of physicists and astronomers and highlighted the need for and the value of looking at narrower subject communities within disciplines for a deeper understanding of the information behaviour of scientists