The Information-seeking Strategies of Humanities Scholars Using Resources in Languages Other Than English

ABSTRACT THE INFORMATION-SEEKING STRATEGIES OF HUMANITIES SCHOLARS USING RESOURCES IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH by Carol Sabbar The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016 Under the Supervision of Dr. Iris Xie This dissertation explores the information-seeking strategies used by scholars in the humanities who rely on resources in languages other than English. It investigates not only the strategies they choose but also the shifts that they make among strategies and the role that language, culture, and geography play in the information-seeking context. The study used purposive sampling to engage 40 human subjects, all of whom are post-doctoral humanities scholars based in the United States who conduct research in a variety of languages. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and research diaries in order to answer three research questions: What information-seeking strategies are used by scholars conducting research in languages other than English? What shifts do scholars make among strategies in routine, disruptive, and/or problematic situations? And In what ways do language, culture, and geography play a role in the information-seeking context, especially in the problematic situations? The data were then analyzed using grounded theory and the constant comparative method. A new conceptual model – the information triangle – was used and is presented in this dissertation to categorize and visually map the strategies and shifts. Based on data collected, thirty distinct strategies were identified and divided into four categories: formal system, informal resource, interactive human, and hybrid strategies. Three types of shifts were considered: planned, opportunistic, and alternative. Finally, factors related to language, culture, and geography were identified and analyzed according to their roles in the information-seeking context. This study is the first of its kind to combine the study of information-seeking behaviors with the factors of language, culture, and geography, and as such, it presents numerous methodological and practical implications along with many opportunities for future research

A new integrated model for multitasking during web searching

Investigating multitasking information behaviour, particularly while using the web, has become an increasingly important research area. People s reliance on the web to seek and find information has encouraged a number of researchers to investigate the characteristics of information seeking behaviour and the web seeking strategies used. The current research set out to explore multitasking information behaviour while using the web in relation to people s personal characteristics, working memory, and flow (a state where people feel in control and immersed in the task). Also investigated were the effects of pre-determined knowledge about search tasks and the artefact characteristics. In addition, the study also investigated cognitive states (interactions between the user and the system) and cognitive coordination shifts (the way people change their actions to search effectively) while multitasking on the web. The research was exploratory using a mixed method approach. Thirty University students participated; 10 psychologists, 10 accountants and 10 mechanical engineers. The data collection tools used were: pre and post questionnaires, pre-interviews, a working memory test, a flow state scale test, audio-visual data, web search logs, think aloud data, observation, and the critical decision method. Based on the working memory test, the participants were divided into two groups, those with high scores and those with lower scores. Similarly, participants were divided into two groups based on their flow state scale tests. All participants searched information on the web for four topics: two for which they had prior knowledge and two more without prior knowledge. The results revealed that working memory capacity affects multitasking information behaviour during web searching. For example, the participants in the high working memory group and high flow group had a significantly greater number of cognitive coordination and state shifts than the low working memory group and low flow group. Further, the perception of task complexity was related to working memory capacity; those with low memory capacity thought task complexity increased towards the end of tasks for which they had no prior knowledge compared to tasks for which they had prior knowledge. The results also showed that all participants, regardless of their working memory capacity and flow level, had the same the first frequent cognitive coordination and cognitive state sequences: from strategy to topic. In respect of disciplinary differences, accountants rated task complexity at the end of the web seeking procedure to be statistically less significant for information tasks with prior knowledge compared to the participants from the other disciplines. Moreover, multitasking information behaviour characteristics such as the number of queries, web search sessions and opened tabs/windows during searches has been affected by the disciplines. The findings of the research enabled an exploratory integrated model to be created, which illustrates the nature of multitasking information behaviour when using the web. One other contribution of this research was to develop new more specific and closely grounded definitions of task complexity and artefact characteristics). This new research may influence the creation of more effective web search systems by placing more emphasis on our understanding of the complex cognitive mechanisms of multitasking information behaviour when using the web

Investigating User Search Tactic Patterns and System Support in Using Digital Libraries

This study aims to investigate users\u27 search tactic application and system support in using digital libraries. A user study was conducted with sixty digital library users. The study was designed to answer three research questions: 1) How do users engage in a search process by applying different types of search tactics while conducting different search tasks?; 2) How does the system support users to apply different types of search tactics?; 3) How do users\u27 search tactic application and system support for different types of search tactics affect search outputs? Sixty student subjects were recruited from different disciplines in a state research university. Multiple methods were employed to collect data, including questionnaires, transaction logs and think-aloud protocols. Subjects were asked to conduct three different types of search tasks, namely, known-item search, specific information search and exploratory search, using Library of Congress Digital Libraries. To explore users\u27 search tactic patterns (RQ1), quantitative analysis was conducted, including descriptive statistics, kernel regression, transition analysis, and clustering analysis. Types of system support were explored by analyzing system features for search tactic application. In addition, users\u27 perceived system support, difficulty, and satisfaction with search tactic application were measured using post-search questionnaires (RQ2). Finally, the study examined the causal relationships between search process and search outputs (RQ 3) based on multiple regression and structural equation modeling. This study uncovers unique behavior of users\u27 search tactic application and corresponding system support in the context of digital libraries. First, search tactic selections, changes, and transitions were explored in different task situations - known-item search, specific information search, and exploratory search. Search tactic application patterns differed by task type. In known-item search tasks, users preferred to apply search query creation and following search result evaluation tactics, but less query reformulation or iterative tactic loops were observed. In specific information search tasks, iterative search result evaluation strategies were dominantly used. In exploratory tasks, browsing tactics were frequently selected as well as search result evaluation tactics. Second, this study identified different types of system support for search tactic application. System support, difficulty, and satisfaction were measure in terms of search tactic application focusing on search process. Users perceived relatively high system support for accessing and browsing tactics while less support for query reformulation and item evaluation tactics. Third, the effects of search tactic selections and system support on search outputs were examined based on multiple regression. In known-item searches, frequencies of query creation and accessing forwarding tactics would positively affect search efficiency. In specific information searches, time spent on applying search result evaluation tactics would have a positive impact on success rate. In exploratory searches, browsing tactics turned out to be positively associated with aspectual recall and satisfaction with search results. Based on the findings, the author discussed unique patterns of users\u27 search tactic application as well as system design implications in digital library environments

Search Transition as a Measure of Effort in Information Retrieval Interaction

In this article we introduce the concept of search transitions as a unit for measuring the effort invested by searchers in information retrieval interaction. The concept is discussed and compared to traditional measures of effort, such as time. To investigate the usability of the search transition measure we have performed an analysis of 149 logs in an IR system indexing a collection of 650.000 Wikipedia articles. Our findings show that search transitions correlate with other, more mechanistic, effort measures. Additional experiments are necessary to investigate if it is a better measure of effort than e.g. number of documents examined

Using ‘search transitions’ to study searchers investment of effort: experiences with client and server side logging

We are investigating the value of using the concept ‘search transition’ for studying effort invested in information search processes. In this paper we present findings from a comparative study of data collected from client and server side loggings. The purpose is to see what factors of effort can be captured from the two logging methods. The data stems from studies of searchers interaction with an XML information retrieval system. The searchers interaction was simultaneously logged by a screen capturing software and the IR systems logging facility. In order to identify the advantages and disadvantages we have compared the data gathered from a selection of sessions. We believe there is value in identifying the effort investment in a search process, both to evaluate the quality of the search system and to suggest areas of system intervention in the search process, if effort investment can be detected dynamicall

A study of interface support mechanisms for interactive information retrieval

Advances in search technology have meant that search systems can now offer assistance to users beyond simply retrieving a set of documents. For example, search systems are now capable of inferring user interests by observing their interaction, offering suggestions about what terms could be used in a query, or reorganizing search results to make exploration of retrieved material more effective. When providing new search functionality, system designers must decide how the new functionality should be offered to users. One major choice is between (a) offering automatic features that require little human input, but give little human control; or (b) interactive features which allow human control over how the feature is used, but often give little guidance over how the feature should be best used. This article presents a study in which we empirically investigate the issue of control by presenting an experiment in which participants were asked to interact with three experimental systems that vary the degree of control they had in creating queries, indicating which results are relevant in making search decisions. We use our findings to discuss why and how the control users want over search decisions can vary depending on the nature of the decisions and the impact of those decisions on the user's search

College Students' Credibility Judgments in the Information-Seeking Process

Part of the Volume on Digital Media, Youth, and CredibilityThis chapter presents an in-depth exploration of how college students identify credible information in everyday information-seeking tasks. The authors find that credibility assessment is an over-time process rather than a discrete evaluative event. Moreover, the context in which credibility assessment occurs is crucial to understand because it affects both the level of effort as well as the strategies that people use to evaluate credibility. College students indicate that although credibility was an important consideration during information seeking, they often compromised information credibility for speed and convenience, especially when the information sought was less consequential

Toward an integrated framework of information and communication behavior: College students' information resources and media selection

This study investigated college students' selection of information resources and engagement in information activities from the perspective of an integrated framework of information and communication behavior, by examining students' interactions with many different types of information resources and media across their school, personal, entertainment, problem solving, and other daily routines. Both web-based diaries and semi-structured interviews were used to capture students' information behavior in natural settings. The subjects logged into a web-based diary and recorded the details of their most important information seeking activity on that day by responding to eleven questions including information seeking topic, resources used, time taken, difficulty, familiarity, and confidence. Two hundred and forty-five information seeking episodes reported by twenty-four subjects from three different colleges and universities were collected over a ten-day period. Findings indicate that the students used multiple information resources in one information seeking episode to verify the content in, often, both information and communication behaviors. The results also reveal that information seeking can be better understood from a social framework because students were aware that human information behavior is influenced by other people's opinions and recommendations and may also affect other people's lives.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61326/1/1450440234_ftp.pd

CNAPSI Corpus of Nabatean, North Arabian, Palmyrene and (Old) Syriac Inscriptions. An on-line project

Presentación lingüística, morfológica y descriptiva de un corpus de inscripciones en dialectos arameos y norarábigo para su difusión en red con sus representaciones correspondientes.Our aim in the present article is to give a linguistic, morphologic and descriptive presentation of a corpus of inscriptions in Aramaic and North-Arabian dialects for their dissemination in Internet, together with their respective iconographic representations