Search (55 results, page 1 of 3)

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Date

22. 9.1997 19:16:05

Source

Visualizing subject access for 21st century information resources: Papers presented at the 1997 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing, 2-4 Mar 1997, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ed.: P.A. Cochrane et al

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Footnote

Simultaneously published as Enhancing Access to Information: Designing Catalogs for the 21st Century

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Source

Challenges in knowledge representation and organization for the 21st century: Integration of knowledge across boundaries. Proceedings of the 7th ISKO International Conference Granada, Spain, July 10-13, 2002. Ed.: M. López-Huertas

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Abstract

The authors report the findings of a study that analyzes and compares the query logs of PsycINFO for psychology and the two history databases of ABC-Clio: Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life to establish the sociological nature of information need, searching, and seeking in history versus psychology. Two problems are addressed: (a) What level of query log analysis - by individual query terms, by co-occurrence of word pairs, or by multiword terms (MWTs) - best serves as data for categorizing the queries to these two subject-bound databases; and (b) how can the differences in the nature of the queries to history versus psychology databases aid in our understanding of user search behavior and the information needs of their respective users. The authors conclude that MWTs provide the most effective snapshot of user searching behavior for query categorization. The MWTs to ABC-Clio indicate specific instances of historical events, people, and regions, whereas the MWTs to PsycINFO indicate concepts roughly equivalent to descriptors used by PsycINFO's own classification scheme. The average length of queries is 3.16 terms for PsycINFO and 3.42 for ABC-Clio, which breaks from findings for other reference and scholarly search engine studies, bringing query length closer in line to findings for general Web search engines like Excite.

Object

America: History and Life

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Abstract

The study reported here tested the efficacy of an information retrieval system output summary and visualization scheme for undergraduates taking a Vietnam War history who were in Kuhlthau's Stage 3 of researching a history essay. The visualization scheme consisted of (a) the undergraduate's own visualization of his or her essay topic, drawn by the student an the bottom half of a sheet of paper, and (b) a visualization of the information space (determined by index term counting) an the tophalf of the same page. To test the visualization scheme, students enrolled in a Vietnam War history course were randomly assigned to either the visualization scheme group, who received a high recall search output, or the nonvisualization group, who received a high precision search output. The dependent variable was the mark awarded the essay by the course instructor. There was no significant difference between the mean marks for the two groups. We were pleasantly surprised with this result given the bad reputation of high recall as a practical search strategy. We hypothesize that a more proactive visualization system is needed that takes the student through the process of using the visualization scheme, including steps that induce student cognition about task-subject objectives.

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Abstract

Reports the result of survey of users of the library catalogues in Cambridge University Library carried out in 1992 which aimed to discover the uses of the catalogues and the user's understanding of them. Describes the projects objectives, gives a history of the Cambridge University Library, describes the catalogues and details the conduct of the survey and results

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Abstract

The history of user evaluation of reference service is traced and related to other methods of reference evaluation, including librarian self report of success, behavioral guidelines, and ubobtrusive observation. The evidence to be derived from presently available user evaluations is considered in the light of criteria for a reference evaluation instrument. Concludes that reference success cannot be explained by any one group of factors, and that the best evaluation will utilize many methods

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Abstract

The forth report in a series of studies, based on the 2 year Getty Art History Information Project; where humanities scholars were trained in DIALOG online searching and then allowed 24 hour unlimited access to DIALOG. Complete transaction logs were taken and form the data upon which the Getty Online Searching Project is based. Data obtained from the study is used to draw conclusions about the design of humanities information resources, particularly databases and other online resources

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Abstract

Over a 2 year period, the Getty Information Institute (formerly the Getty Art History Information Program) sponsored and carried out a major study of end user online searching by humanities scholars. Complete logs of the searches and output were captured, and the 27 scholars involved were interviewed in depth. Reviews the study and its results, with particular emphasis on matters of interest to academic librarians. Implications are drawn for academic library reference service and collection development, as well as for cataloguing in the online and digital environment

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Abstract

This article describes how diaries were implemented in a study of the use of archives and archival finding aids by history graduate students. The issues concerning diary use as a data collection technique are discussed as well as the different types of diaries.

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Abstract

The Getty Art History Information Program carried out a two-year project to study how advanced humanities scholars operate as end users of online databases. Visiting scholars at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Santa Monica, CA, were offered the oppotunity to do unlimited subsidized searching of DIALOG databases. This second report from the project analyzes how much searching the scholars did, the kinds of search techniques and DIALOG features they used., and their learning curves. Search features studied included commands, Boolean logic, types of vocabulary, and proximity operators. Error rates were calculated, as well as how often the scholars used elementary search formulations and introduced new search features and capabiblities into their searches. The amount of searching done ranged from none at all to dozens of hours. A typical search tended to be simple, using one-word search terms and little or no Boolean logic. Starting with a full day of DIALOG training, the scholars began their search experience at a reasonably high level of competence; in general, they maintained a stable level of competence throughout the early hours of their search experience

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Abstract

The Getty art history information program carried out a two-year project to study how humanities scholars operate as end users of online databases. Visiting scholars at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Santa Monica, California, were offered the opportunity to so unlimited subsidized searching of DIALOG databases. This first report from the project analyzes the vocabulary terms twenty-two scholars used in their natural language descriptions of their information needs and in their online searches. The data were extracted from 165 natural language statements and 1.068 search terms. Vocabulary categories used by humanities scholars were found to differ markedly from those used in the sciences, a fact that imposes distinctive demands on thesaurus development and the design of online information systems. Humanities scholars searched for far more named individuals, geographical terms, chronological terms, and discipline terms than was the case in a comparative science sample. The analysis provides substantial support for the growing perception that information needs of humanities scholars are distinct from those of scholars in other fields, and that the design of information-providing systems for these scholars must take their unique qualitites into account

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Abstract

The authors present a study of the real-life information needs of 59 McGill University undergraduates researching essay topics for either a history or psychology course, interviewed just after they had selected their essay topic. The interview's purpose was to transform the undergraduate's query from general topic terms, based an vague conceptions of their essay topic, to an information need-based query. To chart the transformation, the authors investigate N. J. Belkin, R. N. Oddy, and H. M. Brooks' Anomalous States of Knowledge (ASK) hypothesis (1982a, 1982b), which links the user's ASK to a relevant document set via a common code based an structural facets. In the present study an interoperable structural code based an eight essay styles is created, then notions of structural facets compatible with a highimpact essay structure are presented. The important findings of the study are: (a) the undergraduates' topic statements and terms derived from it do not constitute an effective information need statement because for most of the subjects in the study the topic terms conformed to a low-impact essay style; (b) essay style is an effective interoperable structural code for charting the evolution of the undergraduate's knowledge state from ASK to partial resolution of the ASK in an information need statement.

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Abstract

This article reports on a field study of the information behavior of Grade 8 students researching an inquiry-based class history project. Kuhlthau's 7-stage Information Search Process (ISP) model forms the conceptual framework for the study. The aim of the study was to define an end game for the ISP model by answering the following question: How do the student participants' feelings, thoughts, and information behavior lead to the construction of new knowledge? Study findings tentatively indicate that knowledge construction results from an iterative process between the student and information, which can be divided into 3 phases. In the first phase, the students formulate questions from their previous knowledge to start knowledge construction; in the second phase, newly found topic information causes students to ask questions; and in the third phase, the students answer the questions asked by this newly found topic information. Based on these results and Kuhlthau's own ISP stage 7 assessment definition of the ISP model end game, we propose a model of knowledge construction inserted as an extra row in the ISP model framework.

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Abstract

Paper presented at the 1992 IATUL seminar in Tallinn, estonia: 'Universal Availability of Publications in Science and Technology including those on the history and philosophy of grey literature' on UAP policy and practice. Discusses surveys conducted at the Helsinki Univ. of Technology Library analysing the use of the online catalogue. Covers the Internordic Study 'Monitoring the Online Catalogues of the Nordic Technical University Libraries', whose aim was the promotion of end-user accessibility to information as part of a training program. Users' search behaviour was observed during the course on the library's TENTTU information retrieval system. Analyses the transaction log files of end users. Presents statistics on the distribution of search elements in free text and field codes and the use of Boolean operators. Comments on a software package enabling analysis of the interaction between the system and the end user. This may be useful to evaluate training programs

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Abstract

Reviews work of the Getty Art History Information Program (AHIP), recently renamed the Getty Information Institute, where humanities scholars were trained in DIALOG online searching and then allowed 24 hour unlimited access to DIALOG searching and DIALOG databases and where complete transaction logs were taken to yield the data upon which the Getty Online Searching Project was based. Summarizes results of the study of this subsidized access which was reported in a series of papers by M.J. Bates, who found that searching patterns of humanities researchers differed substantially from previous studies in the sciences and social sciences disciplines. Presents a model of the relative merits and opportunities associated with the various contractual arrangements and incentive strategies employed by AHIP with vendors such as DIALOG, consortia such as the Research Libraries Group, and a CD-ROM publication programme, compared to print publications and the experimental offer of access to some of the AHIP databases over the WWW. The arguments are illustrated by means of 2 case studies, involving: changes in pricing of the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals; and the Getty Online Searching Project

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Abstract

There are currently two dominant interface types for searching and browsing large image collections: keywordbased search, and searching by overall similarity to sample images. We present an alternative based on enabling users to navigate along conceptual dimensions that describe the images. The interface makes use of hierarchical faceted metadata and dynamically generated query previews. A usability study, in which 32 art history students explored a collection of 35,000 fine arts images, compares this approach to a standard image search interface. Despite the unfamiliarity and power of the interface (attributes that often lead to rejection of new search interfaces), the study results show that 90% of the participants preferred the metadata approach overall, 97% said that it helped them learn more about the collection, 75% found it more flexible, and 72% found it easier to use than a standard baseline system. These results indicate that a category-based approach is a successful way to provide access to image collections.

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Abstract

The article reports a field study which examined the mental models of 80 undergraduates seeking information for either a history or psychology course essay when they were in an early, exploration stage of researching their essay. This group is presently at a disadvantage when using thesaurus-type schemes in indexes and online search engines because there is a disconnect between how domain novice users of IR systems represent a topic space and how this space is represented in the standard IR system thesaurus. The study attempted to (a) ascertain the coding language used by the 80 undergraduates in the study to mentally represent their topic and then (b) align the mental models with the hierarchical structure found in many thesauri. The intervention focused the undergraduates' thinking about their topic from a topic statement to a thesis statement. The undergraduates were asked to produce three mental model diagrams for their real-life course essay at the beginning, middle, and end of the interview, for a total of 240 mental model diagrams, from which we created a 12-category mental model classification scheme. Findings indicate that at the end of the intervention, (a) the percentage of vertical mental models increased from 24 to 35% of all mental models; but that (b) 3rd-year students had fewer vertical mental models than did 1st-year undergraduates in the study, which is counterintuitive. The results indicate that there is justification for pursuing our research based on the hypothesis that rotating a domain novice's mental model into a vertical position would make it easier for him or her to cognitively connect with the thesaurus's hierarchical representation of the topic area.

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Abstract

Describes a project which monitored electronically 11 public access terminals, at the Colorado University Librarys, to produce transaction logs that were used to gather statistics and analyze the behaviour of users when searching the library online catalogues. The study recorded user behaviour unobtrusively and focused exclusively on what actually occured during the search process. Among other findings it was revealed that the use of system supplied search aids varied, from low use of quick search and express search features, to more extensive use of search history and searching databases other than the home catalogue. Analysis of search results revealed that 66% of subject (keyword) and name searches produce 10 or fewer results, and 82% produce 25 or fewer titles, a manageable number for searchers to scan postings and spot relevant materials. User persistence in scanning titles was found to be high with the full list being requested for nearly 40% of searches netting up to 100 results. Overall, results show that emphasis on improved system design must be stressed if the needs of the majority of searchers are to be met more effectively

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Abstract

It is common to distinguish sharply between leisure reading undertaken purely for pleasure and utilitarian reading that satisfies what Peter Mann (1969, 53-61) has called `extrinsic' interests: reference materials for work and home such as medical books, cook books and repair manuals. We might suppose that information-seeking is concerned only with utilitarian reading. However, once we adopt a definition of information as something that fills in a gap in understanding or makes a difference to an individual's cognitive structure or helps people with their lives, it follows that we cannot deduce uses simply by looking at the texts themselves. Since meanings are constructed by readers, we must ask the readers about the uses they make of texts in the context of their lives. Findings from a research project focussed on 194 readers who read for pleasure indicate that for a broad understanding of the information behaviour of ordinary people, we need to think beyond reference books to include extended narrative forms, particularly biography, history, and fiction. People who are avid readers for pleasure report that during the course of wide reading they serendipitously encounter information that helps them in their lives