Search (6 results, page 1 of 1)

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Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report research that sought to understand the requirements of information systems designed to support people engaged in creative intellectual activity. The research aimed to provide empirical evidence based on a case study of a particular arena of creativity, namely electro-acoustic music composition. However, it also sought to identify issues that may apply more widely to other arenas of human creativity. Design/methodology/approach - The research was based on a related series of three in-depth studies of electro-acoustic music composers at work. These studies entailed the collection of qualitative data from interviews, observations and "think aloud" protocols. These data were analysed inductively to reveal concepts and relationships that formed the basis for a model of interactions between the composers and the information systems with which they were working. Findings - The paper presents a model of relationships between information system features and use, and the resulting effects in terms of the extent to which creativity was perceived by the composers to have been facilitated and inhibited. In particular, a number of tensions were identified which suggest that conventional "best practice" in the design of data-intensive information systems may be fundamentally at odds with the requirements of such systems to support important aspects of creativity. Research limitations/implications - The limitations associated with in-depth qualitative research based on small samples is acknowledged, relating in particular to its lack of ability to generalise on the basis of statistical probability. However, such an approach arguably offers the complementary strength of being particularly suited to exploratory research aimed essentially at charting new territory and identifying rich and possibly unanticipated constructs rather than testing hypotheses based on existing theory. The resultant findings, however, must remain tentative and provisional pending further systematic investigation designed to establish the extent to which they are generalisable. Practical implications - As well as identifying limitations in conventional approaches to designing data-intensive information systems, an alternative architecture is proposed which seeks better to map onto the requirements of creativity support. It is hoped that both the criticisms of conventional approaches and the proposed novel architecture may be of practical use to those engaged in the design of data-intensive creativity support systems. Originality/value - The research reported here offers a novel perspective on the design of information systems in that it identifies a tension between conventional "best practice" in system design and the requirements of important aspects of creativity support. It has the advantage of being based on the in-depth observation of real composers in action over protracted periods of time. It also proposes a novel system architecture which seeks to avoid reduce such tensions.

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Abstract

Purpose - This paper reports the findings of a study designed to explore web searchers' perceptions of the causes of their search failure and success. In particular, it seeks to discover the extent to which the constructs locus of control and attribution theory might provide useful frameworks for understanding searchers' perceptions. Design/methodology/approach - A combination of inductive and deductive approaches were employed. Perceptions of failed and successful searches were derived from the inductive analysis of using open-ended qualitative interviews with a sample of 37 biologists at the University of Sheffield. These perceptions were classified into "internal" and "external" attributions, and the relationships between these categories and "successful" and "failed" searches were analysed deductively to test the extent to which they might be explainable using locus of control and attribution theory interpretive frameworks. Findings - All searchers were readily able to recall "successful" and "unsuccessful" searches. In a large majority of cases (82.4 per cent), they clearly attributed each search to either internal (e.g. ability or effort) or external (e.g. luck or information not being available) factors. The pattern of such relationships was analysed, and mapped onto those that would be predicted by locus of control and attribution theory. The authors conclude that the potential of these theoretical frameworks to illuminate one's understanding of web searching, and associated training, merits further systematic study. Research limitations/implications - The findings are based on a relatively small sample of academic and research staff in a particular subject area. Importantly, also, the study can at best provide a prima facie case for further systematic study since, although the patterns of attribution behaviour accord with those predictable by locus of control and attribution theory, data relating to the predictive elements of these theories (e.g. levels of confidence and achievement) were not available. This issue is discussed, and recommendations made for further work. Originality/value - The findings provide some empirical support for the notion that locus of control and attribution theory might - subject to the limitations noted above - be potentially useful theoretical frameworks for helping us better understand web-based information seeking. If so, they could have implications particularly for better understanding of searchers' motivations, and for the design and development of more effective search training programmes.

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Abstract

This is the second of two articles published in this issue of JASIST reporting the results of a study investigating relationships between Web search strategies and a range of human individual differences. In this article we provide a combined analysis of the factor analyses previously presented separately in relation to each of three groups of human individual difference (study approaches, cognitive and demographic features, and perceptions of and approaches to Internet-based information seeking). It also introduces two series of regression analyses conducted an data spanning all three individual difference groups. The results are discussed in terms of the extent to which they satisfy the original aim of this exploratory research, namely to identify any relationships between search strategy and individual difference variables for which there is a prima facie case for more focused systematic study. It is argued that a number of such relationships do exist. The results of the project are summarized and suggestions are made for further research.

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Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of a number of human individual differences on the web searching of a sample of the general public. Design/methodology/approach - In total, 91 members of the general public performed 195 controlled searches. Search activity and ratings of search difficulty and success were recorded and statistically analysed. The study was exploratory, and sought to establish whether there is a prima facie case for further systematic investigation of the selection and combination of variables studied here. Findings - Results revealed a number of interactions between individual differences, the use of different search strategies, and levels of perceived search difficulty and success. The findings also suggest that the open and closed nature of searches may affect these interactions. A conceptual model of these relationships is presented. Practical implications - Better understanding of factors affecting searching may help one to develop more effective search support, whether in the form of personalised search interfaces and mechanisms, adaptive systems, training or help systems. However, the findings reveal a complexity and variability suggesting that there is little immediate prospect of developing any simple model capable of driving such systems. Originality/value - There are several areas of this research that make it unique: the study's focus on a sample of the general public; its use of search logs linked to personal data; its development of a novel search strategy classifier; its temporal modelling of how searches are transformed over time; and its illumination of four different types of experienced searcher, linked to different search behaviours and outcomes.

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Abstract

This chapter explores cognitive issues relating not only to the use and effectiveness of information retrieval (IR) systems, but also to the generation of new research knowledge relevant to enhancing such use and to the development of improved systems. There is still much that we do not know about how effectively, or not as the case may be, current IR systems support different individuals and groups of people in effectively acquiring the knowledge they need to help them in the tasks in which they are engaged. We need greater levels of knowledge of how we might optimize the symbiotic interactions between IR systems and people working in different contexts, and of the directions we might most profitably take in the development of new systems. The chapter begins by establishing working definitions of "knowledge", "information", "understanding", and related concepts including "information retrieval" and "information behavior". Such definitions are necessary if we are to achieve any clear focus on what are important issues for the evaluation and development of IR systems and practices. Knowledge is defined here as a conceptual system that enables its possessor (whether human or machine) to act in the world (e.g. in the form of autonomous activity or response to stimuli). Information is defined here as potential knowledge, and understanding as the process of transforming information into knowledge. Perceiving an information need represents the realization that one is in a situation for which one's existing knowledge is not adequate. Information is needed to generate, via understanding, appropriate new knowledge. However, the need for knowledge is broader than the information need in that the former entails defining the nature of the sought-for knowledge, as opposed to the type and nature of the information which may be used to generate it. Importantly in this context, functionally the same knowledge may be generated via the processing of alternative items of information. The realization and specification of the knowledge need, along with the evaluation of information behavior in terms of its contribution to satisfying the knowledge need, are termed here knowledge behavior. Information behavior comprises those activities entailed in the acquisition of information that may be transformed into knowledge. It subsumes information encountering and information seeking, the latter subsuming searching and retrieval. Although information retrieval is often used narrowly to denote the latter activity taking place within information seeking, a broader definition is used here to include the development, use and evaluation of systems designed to support the range of activities denoted by the term information behavior.

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Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to examine our current knowledge of how searchers perceive and react to the possibility of missing potentially important information whilst searching the web is limited. The study reported here seeks to investigate such perceptions and reactions, and to explore the extent to which Simon's "bounded rationality" theory is useful in illuminating these issues. Design/methodology/approach - Totally 37 academic staff, research staff and research students in three university departments were interviewed about their web searching. The open-ended, semi-structured interviews were inductively analysed. Emergence of the concept of "good enough" searching prompted a further analysis to explore the extent to which the data could be interpreted in terms of Simon's concepts of "bounded rationality" and "satisficing". Findings - The results indicate that the risk of missing potentially important information was a matter of concern to the interviewees. Their estimations of the likely extent and importance of missed information affected decisions by individuals as to when to stop searching - decisions based on very different criteria, which map well onto Simon's concepts. On the basis of the interview data, the authors propose tentative categorizations of perceptions of the risk of missing information including "inconsequential" "tolerable" "damaging" and "disastrous" and search strategies including "perfunctory" "minimalist" "nervous" and "extensive". It is concluded that there is at least a prima facie case for bounded rationality and satisficing being considered as potentially useful concepts in our quest better to understand aspects of human information behaviour. Research limitations/implications - Although the findings are based on a relatively small sample and an exploratory qualitative analysis, it is argued that the study raises a number of interesting questions, and has implications for both the development of theory and practice in the areas of web searching and information literacy. Originality/value - The paper focuses on an aspect of web searching which has not to date been well explored. Whilst research has done much to illuminate searchers' perceptions of what they find on the web, we know relatively little of their perceptions of, and reactions to information that they fail to find. The study reported here provides some tentative models, based on empirical evidence, of these phenomena.