The effects of topic familiarity on user search behavior in question answering systems

This paper reports on experiments that attempt to characterize the relationship between users and their knowledge of the search topic in a Question Answering (QA) system. It also investigates user search behavior with respect to the length of answers presented by a QA system. Two lengths of answers were compared; snippets (one to two sentences of text) and exact answers. A user test was conducted, 92 factoid questions were judged by 44 participants, to explore the participants’ preferences, feelings and opinions about QA system tasks. The conclusions drawn from the results were that participants preferred and obtained higher accuracy in finding answers from the snippets set. However, accuracy varied according to users’ topic familiarity; users were only substantially helped by the wider context of a snippet if they were already familiar with the topic of the question, without such familiarity, users were about as accurate at locating answers from the snippets as they were in exact set

Collaborative design for metadata interoperability in webopac

Most system metadata development in Malaysian libraries deploys a top-down approach in which actual users were not involved. This resulted in the failure of the system to adequately meet the users’ pragmatic needs. As studies on metadata pragmatic used are rare in the library bibliographic databases, this study investigated common system metadata elements used by Malaysian libraries in describing information objects in the domain of banking and finance, and the preferred user metadata elements in locating the needed information. Specifically, this study addresses two important questions, namely (1) what are the metadata elements preferred by users when searching for library resources on Islamic finance, and (2) how compatible are the system metadata with preferred user metadata elements? This study deployed the conceptual framework of collaborative metadata approach to identify compatibility elements between user metadata and system metadata

Information behavior and expectations of veterinary researchers and their requirements for academic library services

Increased pressure for quality research at South African universities, and limited research done on the information needs of veterinary science researchers and the role of veterinary libraries supporting them,motivated a case study at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria (South Africa). The study aimed to determine what the information needs, information seeking behavior and information use behavior of veterinary researchers are, and howthese needs are beingmet by the library. Quantitative and qualitative datawere collected from researchers as well as information specialists by means of questionnaires, focus group interviews and a citation analysis. Findings and recommendations are based on descriptive statistical analysis of the quantitative data and thematic analysis of the qualitative data. The study found that the information needs of researchers are influenced by the research environment and expectations for research output. Most needs for information and support services aremet. Collection building practices, library space, and awareness of services offered by information specialists need attention. Findings reveal considerable gaps between researchers' expectations from information specialists and their own perceptions of roles to fulfil. The paper contributes to the limited literature on the information behavior of veterinary researchers and library services supporting their needs.http://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-journal-of-academic-librarianship2017-01-31hb201

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

A WEB PERSONALIZATION ARTIFACT FOR UTILITY-SENSITIVE REVIEW ANALYSIS

Online customer reviews are web content voluntarily posted by the users of a product (e.g. camera) or service (e.g. hotel) to express their opinions about the product or service. Online reviews are important resources for businesses and consumers. This dissertation focuses on the important consumer concern of review utility, i.e., the helpfulness or usefulness of online reviews to inform consumer purchase decisions. Review utility concerns consumers since not all online reviews are useful or helpful. And, the quantity of the online reviews of a product/service tends to be very large. Manual assessment of review utility is not only time consuming but also information overloading. To address this issue, review helpfulness research (RHR) has become a very active research stream dedicated to study utility-sensitive review analysis (USRA) techniques for automating review utility assessment. Unfortunately, prior RHR solution is inadequate. RHR researchers call for more suitable USRA approaches. Our current research responds to this urgent call by addressing the research problem: What is an adequate USRA approach? We address this problem by offering novel Design Science (DS) artifacts for personalized USRA (PUSRA). Our proposed solution extends not only RHR research but also web personalization research (WPR), which studies web-based solutions for personalized web provision. We have evaluated the proposed solution by applying three evaluation methods: analytical, descriptive, and experimental. The evaluations corroborate the practical efficacy of our proposed solution. This research contributes what we believe (1) the first DS artifacts to the knowledge body of RHR and WPR, and (2) the first PUSRA contribution to USRA practice. Moreover, we consider our evaluations of the proposed solution the first comprehensive assessment of USRA solutions. In addition, this research contributes to the advancement of decision support research and practice. The proposed solution is a web-based decision support artifact with the capability to substantially improve accurate personalized webpage provision. Also, website designers can apply our research solution to transform their works fundamentally. Such transformation can add substantial value to businesses

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

Supporting finding and re-finding through personalization

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2007.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-176).Although one of the most common uses for the Internet to search for information, Web search tools often fail to connect people with what they are looking for. This is because search tools are designed to satisfy people in general, not the searcher in particular. Different individuals with different information needs often type the same search terms into a search box and expect different results. For example, the query "breast cancer" may be used by a student to find information on the disease for a fifth grade science report, and by a cancer patient to find treatment options. This thesis explores how Web search personalization can help individuals take advantage of their unique past information interactions when searching. Several studies of search behavior are presented and used to inform the design of a personalized search system that significantly improves result quality. Without requiring any extra effort from the user, the system is able to return simple breast cancer tutorials for the fifth grader's "breast cancer" query, and lists of treatment options for the patient's. While personalization can help identify relevant new information, new information can create problems re-finding when presented in a way that does not account for previous information interactions.(cont.) Consider the cancer patient who repeats a search for breast cancer treatments: she may want to learn about new treatments while reviewing the information she found earlier about her current treatment. To not interfere with refinding, repeat search results should be personalized not by ranking the most relevant results first, but rather by ranking them where the user most expects them to be. This thesis presents a model of what people remember about search results, and shows that it is possible to invisibly merge new information into previously viewed search result lists where information has been forgotten. Personalizing repeat search results in this way enables people to effectively find both new and old information using the same search result list.by Jaime Teevan.Ph.D

Modelowanie procesu wyszukiwania informacji naukowej : strategie i interakcje

Zasadniczym przedmiotem podjętych w pracy rozważań jest proces wyszukiwania informacji naukowej. W części teoretycznej, na podstawie analizy kilkunastu istniejących koncepcji, przedstawiono propozycje nowych modeli zbierania i wyszukiwania informacji odzwierciedlających zachowania współczesnych użytkowników informacji naukowej. Przedmiotem badań części empirycznej były elementy interfejsu użytkownika ułatwiające prowadzenie interakcji na kolejnych etapach procesu wyszukiwania. Przeprowadzone badania zaowocowały stworzeniem modelu wspierania interakcji użytkownika z systemem. Dla osiągnięcia założonych celów w części teoretycznej wykorzystano metodę analizy i krytyki piśmiennictwa, natomiast w części empirycznej zastosowano metodę analizy zawartości (systemów), metodę benchmarkingu oraz metodę sondażu. W polskojęzycznej literaturze informatologicznej brak publikacji omawiającej problematykę wyszukiwania i zbierania informacji naukowej w sposób kompleksowy. Prezentowana monografia stara się wypełnić tę lukę, uzupełniając jednocześnie dotychczasową wiedzę o nowe wątki, a także odświeżając koncepcje, które na przestrzeni lat straciły na aktualności. Praca adresowana jest przede wszystkim do specjalistów – badaczy zachowań informacyjnych oraz projektantów systemów informacji naukowej, jednak z powodzeniem może być również wykorzystana jako materiał dydaktyczny dla studentów różnych kierunków.The basic object of the considerations which are presented in this work is the process of searching for scientific information. On the basis of an analysis of a dozen or so existing concepts, the theoretical part presents the proposal of new models of information seeking and searching – models which reflect the behaviour of the modern users of scholarly information. The object of research in the empirical part has to do with the elements of the user’s interface which facilitate interaction at the particular stages of the process of information retrieval. The research which was conducted bore fruit in the form of the construction of a model which supports the interaction of the user with the system. In order to fulfil the goals which were set, the theoretical part employs the method of the analysis and criticism of writing, whereas the empirical part employs the method of an analysis of the content (of systems), the benchmarking method and the survey method. Polish‑ language information science reference works do not include publications which discuss the problems of seeking and searching scientific information in a comprehensive manner. The present monograph attempts to fill this gap, at the same time enhancing the present state of knowledge by introducing new themes and refreshing the concepts which became somewhat obsolete in the course of years. The work is intended above all for specialists – the researchers of the informationbehaviour and the designers of scientific information systems. However, the work may also be successfully used as didactic material for students who pursue various courses of study