Towards effective research recommender systems for repositories

In this paper, we argue why and how the integration of recommender systems for research can enhance the functionality and user experience in repositories. We present the latest technical innovations in the CORE Recommender, which provides research article recommendations across the global network of repositories and journals. The CORE Recommender has been recently redeveloped and released into production in the CORE system and has also been deployed in several third-party repositories. We explain the design choices of this unique system and the evaluation processes we have in place to continue raising the quality of the provided recommendations. By drawing on our experience, we discuss the main challenges in offering a state-of-the-art recommender solution for repositories. We highlight two of the key limitations of the current repository infrastructure with respect to developing research recommender systems: 1) the lack of a standardised protocol and capabilities for exposing anonymised user-interaction logs, which represent critically important input data for recommender systems based on collaborative filtering and 2) the lack of a voluntary global sign-on capability in repositories, which would enable the creation of personalised recommendation and notification solutions based on past user interactions

Exploring research trends with Rexplore

Current systems for exploring scholarly data exhibit a number of shortcomings in their ability to facilitate the identification of research trends and identify 'interesting' connections between researchers. To address these issues we have developed Rexplore, a novel system which combines statistics, human-computer interaction, and semantic technologies, to support knowledge-based exploration and visualization of scholarly data. In this paper we focus on the functionalities provided by Rexplore for visualizing research trends and we use as an example research in "Social Networks", which has experienced dramatic growth in the years 2000-2010

Visual search for supporting content exploration in large document collections

In recent years a number of new approaches for visualising and browsing document collections have been developed. These approaches try to address the problems associated with the growing amounts of content available and the changing patterns in the way people interact with information. Users now demand better support for exploring document collections to discover connections, compare and contrast information. Although visual search interfaces have the potential to improve the user experience in exploring document collections compared to textual search interfaces, they have not yet become as popular among users. The reasons for this range from the design of such visual interfaces to the way these interfaces are implemented and used. In this paper we study these reasons and determine the factors that contribute to an improved visual browsing experience. Consequently, by taking these factors into account, we propose a novel visual search interface that improves exploratory search and the discovery of document relations. We explain our universal approach, and how it could be applied to any document collection, such as news articles, cultural heritage artifacts or research papers

Informationsvisualisierung und Retrieval im Fokus der Informationspraxis

Methoden und Techniken der Informationsvisualisierung werden seit ungefähr zwanzig Jahren im Bereich der Informationssuche eingesetzt. In dieser Literaturstudie werden ausgewählte Visualisierungsanwendungen der letzten Jahre vorgestellt. Sie betreffen zum einen den Retrievalprozess, das Boolesche Retrieval, die facettierte Suche, Dokumentbeziehungen, die Zufallssuche und Ergebnisanzeige, zum anderen spezielle Anwendungen wie die kartenbasierte und adaptive Visualisierung, Zitationsnetzwerke und Wissensordnungen. Die Einsatzszenarien für Applikationen der Informationsvisualisierung sind vielfältig. Sie reichen von mobilen kleinformatigen Anwendungen bis zu großformatigen Darstellungen auf hochauflösenden Bildschirmen, von integrativen Arbeitsplätzen für den einzelnen Nutzer bis zur Nutzung interaktiver Oberflächen für das kollaborative Retrieval. Das Konzept der Blended Library wird vorgestellt. Die Übertragbarkeit von Visualisierungsanwendungen auf Bibliothekskataloge wird im Hinblick auf die Nutzung des Kataloginputs und des Angebots an Sucheinstiegen geprüft. Perspektivische Überlegungen zu zukünftigen Entwicklungsschritten von Bibliothekskatalogen sowie zum Einfluss von Visualisierungsanwendungen auf die Informationspraxis werden angestellt.Information visualization methods and techniques have been applied to information retrieval tasks for about twenty years. This literature survey gives an overview over recent applications in the field of information seeking. Information visualization applications for general search processes (Boolean queries, faceted search, relations between documents, serendipity and presentation of results) as well as for specific applications like map-based visualization, adaptive visualization, citation networks and knowledge systems are presented. Application settings for information visualization are manifold. They span from small-sized mobile devices to wall-sized high resolution displays, from integrative workplaces for individual use to interactive surfaces for collaborative information seeking activities. The idea of the Blended Library is presented. The portability of information visualization applications for library catalogs is evaluated with special regard to metadata use and catalog access points. Possible next stages of library catalog development are discussed. Finally, observations on the influence of visualization applications on the information practice are made

Supporting the Discoverability of Open Educational Resources: on the Scent of a Hidden Treasury

Open Educational Resources (OERs), now available in large numbers, have a considerable potential to improve many aspects of society, yet one of the factors limiting this positive impact is the difficulty to discover them. This thesis investigates and proposes strategies to better support educators in discovering OERs. The literature suggests that the effectiveness of existing search systems, including for OER discovery, could be improved by supporting users, such as teachers, in carrying out more exploratory search activities closer to their existing methods of working. Hence, a preliminary taxonomy of OER-related search tasks was produced, based on an analysis of the literature, interpreted through Information Foraging Theory. This taxonomy was empirically evaluated to preliminarily identify a set of search tasks that involve finding other OERs similar to one that has already been identified, a process that is generally referred to as Query By Example (QBE). Following the Design Science Research methodology, three prototypes to support as well as to refine those tasks were iteratively designed, implemented, and evaluated involving an increasing number of educators in usability oriented studies. The resulting high-level and domain-oriented blended search/recommendation strategy transparently replicates Google searches in specialized networks, and identifies similar resources with a QBE strategy. It makes use of a domain-oriented similarity metric based on shared alignments to educational standards, and clusters results in expandable classes of comparable degrees of similarity. The summative evaluation shows that educators do appreciate this strategy because it is exploratory and – balancing similarity and diversity – it supports their high-level tasks, such as lesson planning and personalization of education. Finally, potential barriers and opportunities for the uptake of OER discovery tools were investigated in a structured interview study with experts from the OER field. Identified issues included how to work across multiple OER portals, variability in the use of metadata and how to align with the working practices of teachers. The findings of the thesis can be used to inform the research and development of methods and tools for OER discovery as well as their deployment to serve the needs of educators