Search (18 results, page 1 of 1)

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Abstract

Users move from one state (or task) to another in an information system's labyrinth as they try to accomplish their work, and the amount of time they spend in each state varies. This article uses continuous-time stochastic models, mainly based on semi-Markov chains, to derive user state transition patterns (both in rates and in probabilities) in a Web-based information system. The methodology was demonstrated with 126,925 search sessions drawn from the transaction logs of the University of California's MELVYL® library catalog system (www.melvyLucop.edu). First, user sessions were categorized into six groups based on their similar use of the system. Second, by using a three-layer hierarchical taxonomy of the system Web pages, user sessions in each usage group were transformed into a sequence of states. All the usage groups but one have third-order sequential dependency in state transitions. The sole exception has fourth-order sequential dependency. The transition rates as well as transition probabilities of the semi-Markov model provide a background for interpreting user behavior probabilistically, at various levels of detail. Finally, the differences in derived usage patterns between usage groups were tested statistically. The test results showed that different groups have distinct patterns of system use. Knowledge of the extent of sequential dependency is beneficial because it allows one to predict a user's next move in a search space based on the past moves that have been made. It can also be used to help customize the design of the user interface to the system to facilitate interaction. The group CL6 labeled "knowledgeable and sophisticated usage" and the group CL7 labeled "unsophisticated usage" both had third-order sequential dependency and had the same most-frequently occurring search pattern: screen display, record display, screen display, and record display. The group CL8 called "highly interactive use with good search results" had fourth-order sequential dependency, and its most frequently occurring pattern was the same as CL6 and CL7 with one more screen display action added. The group CL13, called "known-item searching" had third-order sequential dependency, and its most frequently occurring pattern was index access, search with retrievals, screen display, and record display. Group CL14 called "help intensive searching," and CL18 called "relatively unsuccessful" both had thirdorder sequential dependency, and for both groups the most frequently occurring pattern was index access, search without retrievals, index access, and again, search without retrievals.

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Abstract

This article reports on a low-cost study of the transaction log of an online public access catalog at an academic library. The three goals of the study were to determine failure rates, to study usage patterns, and to investigate problable causes of patron problems when using the OPAC. The study found that failure rates (defined as those searches that produced zero hits) of approximately 40% are common, and that usage patterns and failure rates do not vary greatly over time or from terminal to terminal, but that the distribution of probable causes of user problems varies significantly from terminal to terminal

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Abstract

This article reports on a model and patterns of use of a library catalog that can be accessed through the Internet. Three categories of users are identified. individuals who perform a search of the catalog, tourists who look only at opening pages of the library catalog's site, and Web spiders that come to the site to obtain pages for indexing the Web. A number of types of use activities are also identified, and can be grouped with the presearch phase (which takes place before any searching begins): the search phase, the display phase (in which users display the results of their search), and phases in which users make errors, ask the system for help or assistance, and take other actions. An empirical investigation of patterns of use of a university Web-based library catalog was conducted for 479 days. During that period, the characteristics of about 2.5 million sessions were recorded and analyzed, and usage trends were identified. Of the total, 62% of the sessions were for users who performed a search, 27% were from spiders, and 11% were for tourists. During the study period, the average search session lasted about 5 minutes when the study began and had increased to about 10 minutes 16 months later. An average search consisted of about 1.5 presearch actions lasting about 25 seconds, about 5.3 display actions, and 2.5 searches per session. The latter two categories are in the range of 35-37 seconds per session each. There were major differences in usage (number of searches, search time, number of display actions, and display time), depending upon the database accessed

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Abstract

Different users of a Web-based information system will have different goals and different ways of performing their work. This article explores the possibility that we can automatically detect usage patterns without demographic information about the individuals. First, a set of 47 variables was defined that can be used to characterize a user session. The values of these variables were computed for approximately 257,000 sessions. Second, principal component analysis was employed to reduce the dimensions of the original data set. Third, a twostage, hybrid clustering method was proposed to categorize sessions into groups. Finally, an external criteriabased test of cluster validity was performed to verify the validity of the resulting usage groups (clusters). The proposed methodology was demonstrated and tested for validity using two independent samples of user sessions drawn from the transaction logs of the University of California's MELVYL® on-line library catalog system (www.melvyl.ucop.edu). The results indicate that there were six distinct categories of use in the MELVYL system: knowledgeable and sophisticated use, unsophisticated use, highly interactive use with good search performance, known-item searching, help-intensive searching, and relatively unsuccessful use. Their characteristics were interpreted and compared qualitatively. The analysis shows that each group had distinct patterns of use of the system, which justifies the methodology employed in this study

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Abstract

Search index usage in a large university online catalog system over a six-year period (representing about 15,3 million searches) was investigated using transaction monitor data. Mathematical models of trends and patterns in the data were developed and tested using regression techniques. The results of the analyses show a consistent decline in the frequency of subject index use by online catalog users, with a corresponding increase in the frequency of title keyword searching. Significant annual patterns in index usage were also identified. Analysis of the transaction data, and related previous studies of online catalog users, suggest a number of factors contributing to the decline in subject search frequency. Chief among these factors are user difficulties in formulating subject queries with LCSH, leading to search failure, and the problem of "information overload" as database size increases. This article presents the models and results of the transaction log analysis, discusses the underlying problems with subject searching contributing to the observed decline, and reviews some proposed improvements to online catalog systems to aid in overcoming these problems

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Abstract

This report presents the results of a survey of users who access the University of California's online union catalog, the MELVYL library system, via microcomputers with modems or connections carried through local or wide area networks. The report includes descriptive statistics on user location, status, subject interest, affiliation, in-library versus out-of-library usage patterns, need for assistance, and desire for new features

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Abstract

This article reports on a transaction log study of the BIS online catalog at North Caroline State University. Transaction logs were used to gather data on failure rates, usage patterns, and causes of problems. The result show that 54 percent of the searches analyzed failed. Subject searching was the most often used but least successful search. Problems experienced by patrons searching BIS were often due to a misunderstanding of how to operate the system, typographical errors, and the use of uncontrolled vocabulary. As in earlier studies, transaction logs analysis proved to be a fruitful and practical methodology for studying users' searching behaviour in an online catalog.

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Abstract

The focus of this study is the search behavior of remote users of the University of California MELVYL Library System, an OPAC. Transaction logs from randomly selected remote user search sessions are analyzed. Descriptive data on the number and type of searches, choice of search mode and database, number of retrievals, number and type of errors, and use of system HELP facilities are presented. The search data have been cross-tabulated with demographic data on the same group of remote users, collected through an online survey conducted by the authors. Effectiveness of system usage is discussed. A case mode is made for the desirability of additional heuristics in the catalog portion of the system

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Abstract

Reports results of an online survey of in house users acessing California University's computerized union catalogue, the MELVYL library system, from public access terminals in the libraries of the California University at Santa Cruz (UCSC). The study included descriptive statistics on user status, affiliation, anticipated focus of system usage, judgement of ease of system use, and need for assistance. The transaction logs of respondents to the survey were analyzed and cross tabulated with demographic data on the same group of users. Particular attention was given to subject searching and to the dilemmas that confront users of a system in which heuristics are largely absent. Data was compared with similar data collected in a earlier study of user who accessed the MELVYL library system from remote sites

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Abstract

An increasing number of library user studies are employing ethnographic techniques as an alternative to more traditional qualitative methods such as surveys. Such techniques, however, are only beginning to see significant application to catalog user studies. Beginning with a discussion of the applied ethnographic method and its current usage within the field of Library and Information Science research, this article will assess methods that have traditionally been applied to studies of catalog users and present the case for the potential of an ethnographic approach for future catalog evaluation and design.

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Abstract

A transaction log analysis of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) OPAC was conducted to identify query and search failure patterns with the goal of identifying areas of improvement for the system. One semester's worth of OPAC transaction logs were obtained and from these, 641,991 queries were extracted and used for this work. Issues investigated included query length, frequency and type of search options and Boolean operators used as well as their relationships with search failure. Among other findings, results indicate that a majority of the queries were simple, with short query lengths and a low usage of Boolean operators. Failure analysis revealed that on average, users had an almost equal chance of obtaining no records or at least one record to a submitted query. We propose enhancements and suggest future areas of work to improve the users' search experience with the NTU OPAC.

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Date

29. 7.1998 10:57:22

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Date

22. 2.2009 18:50:43

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Abstract

The degree of variability in the percentage of subject searching in an online public access catalog (OPAC) among branch libraries of one university was studied. A full semester's worth of transactions was analyzed, not sampled. The time units used were hour of the day, day of the week, and week of the semester. The findings show that subject searching varies from a low of 22% to a high of 74% over the hours of a day. Variability for the days of the week ranged from 17% to 64%, and for the weeks of the semester variability ranged from 12% to 70%. Valuable management information on the utilization of the OPAC within each brach library and among all the branch libraries is provided through numerous charts and graphs.

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Source

International cataloguing and bibliographic control. 22(1993) no.4, S.68-71

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Date

10. 9.2000 17:38:22