Search (12 results, page 1 of 1)

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Abstract

A recent survey of more than 1700 households indicates that the main reason many parents purchase computers and connect their children to the Internet at home is for education (Safe and Smart). In addition the survey shows that children also use the Internet for educational activities that go beyond required school work. In fact, the fastest growing group of Internet users are children between the ages of eight and twelve (Vise, 2003), who are increasingly using the Web to access educational as well as entertainment materials. Children, however, rely on conventional information retrieval (IR) systems and search engines intended for general adult use, such as MSN or Google, and to a much lesser extent, Web portals such as Yahooligans! and LycosZone specifically intended for young users (Large et al., 2004; Large, Beheshti, and Rahman, 2002a). But research has shown that children's information needs (Walter, 1994), research approaches (Kuhlthau, 1991), and cognitive abilities and higher order thinking skills (Neuman, 1995; Siegler, 1998; Vandergrift, 1989) differ from those of adults. The results of earlier studies on children's use of online catalogues designed for adults indicate that young users are often faced with difficulties locating specific information related to their information needs (Hirsh, 1997). A growing body of research points to the problems children typically encounter when seeking information on the Web. Kafai and Bates (1997) conducted one of the first studies with young children on their use of Web sites, and concluded that they were able to navigate through the links and scroll. Only the older children, however, could use search engines effectively. Hirsh (1999) investigated the searching behavior of ten fifth graders and concluded that they encountered difficulties in formulating effective search queries and did not use advanced features. Schacter, Chung, and Dorr (1998) conducted a study on Internet searching by fifth and sixth graders and concluded that they did not plan their searches, used ill-defined queries, and preferred browsing. Large, Beheshti, and Moukdad (1999), investigating the information seeking behavior of 53 sixth graders, similarly found that children preferred browsing to searching. Bowler, Large, and Rejskind (2001), focusing on a few case studies of grade six students concluded that search engines designed for adults are unsuitable for children. Wallace et al. (2000), studying sixth graders, discovered that experience in using search engines does not improve children's search strategies and in general information seeking is an unfamiliar activity for children.

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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.

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Abstract

Four focus groups were held with young Web users (10 to 13 years of age) to explore design criteria for Web portals. The focus group participants commented upon four existing portals designed with young users in mind: Ask Jeeves for Kids, KidsClick, Lycos Zone, and Yahooligans! This article reports their first impressions on using these portals, their likes and dislikes, and their suggestions for improvements. Design criteria for children's Web portals are elaborated based upon these comments under four headings: portal goals, visual design, information architecture, and personalization. An ideal portal should cater for both educational and entertainment needs, use attractive screen designs based especially on effective use of color, graphics, and animation, provide both keyword search facilities and browsable subject categories, and allow individual user personalization in areas such as color and graphics

Date

2. 6.2005 10:34:22

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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

This paper reports the results of an empirical study into gender differences in collaborative Web searching, conducted in a grade-six classroom of a Canadian elementary school. Searches undertaken by 16 same-sex groups of two or three students (six of boys, ten of girls) for information to support a class assignment were captured on videotape. The multiple search sessions took place over several weeks. An analysis of the search sessions reveals that the groups of boys formulated queries comprising fewer keywords than the groups of girls, the boys spent less time on individual pages than the girls, the boys clicked more hypertext links per minute than the girls, and in general were more active while online. The study overall demonstrates academic, affective and behavior differences between grade-six boys and girls working in same-sex groups on a Web-based class project.

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Abstract

Describes an experiment using 48 sixth-grade students to compare retrieval techniques using the print and CD-ROM versions of Compton's Encyclopedia. Four queries of defferent complexity (measured by the numer of terms present) were searched by the students after a short training session. The searches were timed and the retrieval steps and search terms were noted. The searches were no faster on the CD-ROM than the print version, but in both cases time was related directly to the number of terms involved. The students coped well with the CD-ROM interface and its several retrieval paths

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Abstract

PACE (Public Access Catalogue Extension) is an alternative user interface designed to enhace OPACs. PACE simulates images of books and library shelves to help users browse through the catalogue. Reports results of a study in which PACE was tested in a college library (Vanier College), in a real operational environment, against a second generation test based OPAC: Best-Seller. Results show that a simple browsable retrieval interface performed as well as a second generation OPAC in terms of retrieval speed and search success. The overwhelming majority of students, however, preferred the browsing capability of PACE through the familiar metaphor of books and library shelves to a text based OPAC

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Abstract

Children seek information in order to complete school projects on a wide variety of topics, as well as to support their various leisure activities. Such information can be found in print documents, but increasingly young people are turning to the Web to meet their information needs. In order to exploit this resource, however, children must be able to search or browse digital information through the intermediation of an interface. In particular, they must use Web-based portals that in most cases have been designed for adult users. Guidelines for interface design are not hard to find, but typically they also postulate adult rather than juvenile users. The authors discuss their own research work that has focused upon what young people themselves have to say about the design of portal interfaces. They conclude that specific interface design guidelines are required for young users rather than simply relying upon general design guidelines, and that in order to formulate such guidelines it is necessary to actively include the young people themselves in this process.

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Abstract

Reports on research into the information-seeking habits of primary schoolchildren conducted under operational conditions. Three workstations with Internet access were installed in a grade-six classroom in suburban Montreal. After a short introductory training session for the entire group followed by short individual sessions for each student, 53 students, working in small groups, used these workstations over a six-week period to seek information on the Web of relevance to a class project assigned by their teacher. The project dealt with the Winter Olympic Games (recently completed at that time). The student objective was to locate relevant information for a poster and an oral presentation on one of the sports represented at the Games. All screen activity was directly captured on videotape and group conversations at the workstation were audiotaped. Demographic and computer literacy information was gathered in a questionnaire. This paper presents a map of the information-seeking landscape based upon an analysis of the descriptive statistics gathered from the Web searches. It reveals that the novice users favored browsing over analytic search strategies, although they did show some sophistication in the construction of the latter. Online help was ignored. The children demonstrated a very high level of interactivity with the interface at the expense of thinking, planning and evaluating. This is a preliminary analysis of data which will subsequently be expanded by the inclusion of qualitative data

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Abstract

In this article and two other articles which conceptualize a future stage of the research program (Leide, Cole, Large, & Beheshti, submitted for publication; Cole, Leide, Large, Beheshti, & Brooks, in preparation), we map-out a domain novice user's encounter with an IR system from beginning to end so that appropriate classification-based visualization schemes can be inserted into the encounter process. This article describes the visualization of a navigation classification scheme only. The navigation classification scheme uses the metaphor of a ship and ship's navigator traveling through charted (but unknown to the user) waters, guided by a series of lighthouses. The lighthouses contain mediation interfaces linking the user to the information store through agents created for each. The user's agent is the cognitive model the user has of the information space, which the system encourages to evolve via interaction with the system's agent. The system's agent is an evolving classification scheme created by professional indexers to represent the structure of the information store. We propose a more systematic, multidimensional approach to creating evolving classification/indexing schemes, based on where the user is and what she is trying to do at that moment during the search session.

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Abstract

The article reports a field study investigating the temporality of the information behavior of 44 grade 8 students from initiation to completion of their school inquiry-based history project. The conceptual framework for the study is Kuhlthau's 6-stage information-search process (ISP) model. The objective of the study is to test and extend ISP model concepts. As per other ISP model studies, our study measured the evolution of the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the study participants over the 3-month period of their class project. The unique feature of this study is the unlimited access the researchers had to a real-life history class, resulting in 12 separate measuring periods. We report 2 important findings of the study. First, through factor analysis, we determined 5 factors that define the temporality of completing an inquiry-based project for these grade 8 students. The second main finding is the importance of the students' consultations with their classmates, siblings, parents, and teachers in the construction of the knowledge necessary to complete their project.

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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.