How does Cognitive Ability impact the use of Query Reformulation Moves?

People have different mental strengths and weakness, which can be measured according to cognitive ability. Learning about strengths and preferences in terms of search behavior, and looking for patterns between behaviors and cognitive abilities, creates the opportunity to make search tools and systems more effectively meet user needs and preferences. While we know that different cognitive abilities exist, and that people form and reform search queries in a variety of ways, we do not know how these two elements interact, or if the interaction is predictable or significant. This paper performs secondary analysis of data collected during a study of cognitive ability, adding in the element of query reformulation moves. It assesses the effect of these cognitive abilities on study participants' search formulation behaviors. Analysis showed that the most common search move was adding a concept to a query, followed by deleting concepts and manipulating search terms. Of the cognitive abilities, the only statistically significant differences between high and low groups were found in the visualization ability. Those in the high skill group made significantly more moves, and significantly more term manipulation moves, than their low skill counterparts.Master of Science in Information Scienc

Vertical Search Behavior and Preference of Users with Different Visual Memory and Perceptual Speed Abilities

Vertical search in Information Retrieval (IR) represents display opportunities for searcher interaction in the form of blended and non-blended results. Search behavior and preference in interacting with these results can be influenced by both design and personal, cognitive abilities. This study evaluates the relationship between cognitive ability and vertical search behavior and preference. In this lab study cognitive tests measuring perceptual speed and visual memory were administered to sixteen participants who subsequently performed four search tasks on two search engines, one with a blended display and one with a non-blended display. Cognitive tests, search logs and participant questionnaires were used to evaluate vertical search behavior and preference in cognitively high and low performers. The findings suggest that cognitive ability influences vertical search engagement and preference. The value in this research is its ability to contribute to issues of result merging, display, and interaction at a personal level in vertical search.Master of Science in Information Scienc

The relationship between task complexity, working memory and information search

In recent years, there has been growing interest in better understanding human actors in human information seeking behavior studies. Although a number of studies have been conducted to explore users’ individual differences in search behavior, there have been few studies taking both a theoretical and empirical approach to the relationship between users’ cognitive ability, task complexity and search interactions. The study presented in this paper evaluated the effect of task complexity and working memory in human information searching behavior. Twenty-four participants from a non-college-bound adolescents sample (ages 18-50+) performed two search tasks of varying levels of complexity and were administered measures of working memory. ANOVA tests revealed three important trends: (1) task complexity had a significant main effect on users’ perceptions about the task (i.e., temporal demand and level of satisfaction with time spent on the task), (2) working memory capacity had a significant main effect on users’ search behavior (i.e., queries, clicks, time until 1st click and time between search activities), and (3) a significant interaction effect was found for several search interaction measures (i.e., queries, clicks and time between search activities) and perceived level of temporal demand. Specifically, participants with high working memory capacity carried out more search activities at a faster pace and experienced less temporal workload. Taken together, these results suggest that task complexity and working memory capacity can have effects on users’ search behavior as well as their perceptions about the search experience.Master of Science in Information Scienc

Computer detection of spatial visualization in a location-based task

An untapped area of productivity gains hinges on automatic detection of user cognitive characteristics. One such characteristic, spatial visualization ability, relates to users’ computer performance. In this dissertation, we describe a novel, behavior-based, spatial visualization detection technique. The technique does not depend on sensors or knowledge of the environment and can be adopted on generic computers. In a Census Bureau location-based address verification task, detection rates exceeded 80% and approached 90%

Engaged or Frustrated? Disambiguating Engagement and Frustration in Search

One of the primary ways researchers have characterized engagement is by an increase in search actions. Another possibility is that instead of experiencing increased engagement, people who click and query frequently are actually frustrated; several studies have shown that frustration is also characterized by increases in clicking and querying behaviors. This research seeks to illuminate the differences in search behavior between participants who are engaged and frustrated, as well as investigate the effect of task interest on engagement and frustration. To accomplish this, a laboratory experiment was conducted with 40 participants. Participants completed four tasks, and responded to questionnaires that measured their engagement, frustration, and stress. Participants were asked to rank eight topics based on interest, and were given their two most interesting and two least interesting tasks. Poor search result quality was introduced to induce frustration during their most interesting and least interesting tasks. This study found that physiological signals hold some promise for disambiguating engagement and frustration, but this depends on the time frame and manner in which they are examined. Frustrated participants had significantly more skin conductance responses during the task, while engaged participants had greater increases in skin conductance during the first 60 seconds of the task. Significant main and interaction effects for interest and frustration were found for heart rate in the window analysis, indicating that heart rate fluctuations over time can be most effective in distinguishing engagement from frustration. The multilevel modeling of engagement and frustration confirmed this, showing that interest contributed significantly to the model of skin conductance, while frustration contributed significantly to the model of heart rate. This study also found that interest had a significant effect on engagement, while the frustrator effectively created frustration. Frustration also had a significant effect on self-reported stress. Participants exhibited increases in search actions such as clicks and scrolls during periods of both engagement and frustration, but a regression analyses showed that scrolls, clicks on documents, and SERP clicks were most predictive of a frustrating episode. A significant main effect for interest was found for time between queries, indicating that this could be a useful signal of engagement. A model including the physiological signals and search behaviors showed that physiological signals aided in the prediction of engagement and frustration. Findings of this research have provided insight into the utility of physiological signals in distinguishing emotional states as well as provided evidence about the relationship among search actions, engagement and frustration. These findings have also increased our understanding of the role emotions play in search behavior and how information about a searcher’s emotional state can be used to improve the search experience.Doctor of Philosoph

LOAN ME THE MONEY: HOW COGNITIVE ABILITIES AND FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE INFLUENCE CONSUMERS’ INFORMATION BEHAVIORS

For most people, financial well-being depends on the ability to make sound decisions about many aspects of personal finance. This is especially true in the United States (U.S.), when it comes to consumer loan products such as mortgages and student loans. Consumers who lack strong financial knowledge can unwittingly expose themselves to bad information when searching online. Without understanding people’s searching behaviors, information professionals cannot know whether personal finance-related information systems adequately meet the needs of the people using them. Interactive Information Retrieval (IIR) is well-suited to study this, yet there has been little research in this area. One approach that makes sense for studying debt-related information searching is to investigate the role individual differences play in people’s searching. This is because individual differences are testable constructs that can be associated with differences in search performance outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation research is to understand influences that cognitive abilities and financial knowledge have on outcomes related to search, assessment, and mental workload of adults searching online for debt-related personal finance information. A theoretical model is proposed in which financial knowledge acts as a moderating variable on the effect that cognitive abilities have on search and evaluation behaviors as well as mental workload. The results of the study were mixed. The testing of hypotheses on the model were unsuccessful and provide information for informing future model designs and hypothesis development. The qualitative portion of the study provided numerous insights, including that the topic of personal finance, specifically in the realm of financial loans such as mortgages, student loans, and payday loans, is more challenging for people than they realize. Participants reported low prior knowledge of all task topics and used simple search strategies such as avoiding advertisements on search engine results pages (SERPs), relying heavily on the first SERP result, and reformulating queries rather than investigating SERPs at deeper levels. Participants rated most webpages they found as relevant or very relevant but expert assessors rated most of those same pages as only somewhat relevant or not relevant. The findings have numerous implications and point to key areas for further research.Doctor of Philosoph

Adaptation in Information Search and Decision-Making under Time Pressure

The purpose of this dissertation research was to understand how people adapt their information search and decision-making processes and outcomes under time pressure. The goal of the first study was to create and evaluate decision-making tasks; the results were also used to empirically set the task time limit for the main study. The primary goal of the second study was to investigate the impact of time constraints and time pressure on behavioral, cognitive and affective aspects of the search and decision-making processes and outcomes. A mixed methods research design was used in both studies. Quantitative data analysis methods were used to analyze logged search interactions, eye-tracking data, and questionnaires to gain insights into participants' perceptions of the tasks, their search and decision processes, and their decisions. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze participant's recommendation decisions for their specificity and accuracy. In Study 2, seven hypotheses were tested to evaluate the impact of time constraints on processes, outcomes, and time perceptions. Participants without a time limit spent almost exactly 5 minutes on the task and participants with a 5-minute time limit spent under 3 minutes although this difference was not significant. There were no significant differences in search behaviors between time conditions. Time-constrained participants who made a recommendation quickly were less likely to recommend a specific option, but there were no overall differences in recommendation specificity. Time-constrained participants felt higher time pressure, greater time inadequacy, and greater time monitoring with moderate levels of search activity. They perceived a faster task pace, although there were no differences in the average time spent on pages. Time-constrained participants did not find it more difficult to search or make a decision, but they did find it less difficult to decide whether to search. They also did not find it more difficult to decide when to stop and make their decision, and they did not think that they had less adequate information.Doctor of Philosoph