The objective of this controlled information retrieval (IR) user experiment is to gain an understanding of domain experts’ interactions with novel search interfaces within the context of biomedical information search, with a goal of better search interface design. In this paper, we examine the relationships among user perception, gaze and search behaviour and user search performance. An eye-tracking study of biomedical domain experts’ interactions with novel search interfaces was conducted. A total of thirty-two users participated and searched for documents answering eight complex exploratory search tasks, using four different search interfaces. The findings suggest that gaze behaviour in terms of fixation durations based measures of areas of interest (AOI), i.e., visual attention to the elements of title, author, abstract and MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms in document surrogates is correlated with search performance. Users are more likely to achieve better search performance by precision-based measures when 1) search tasks are perceived as difficult; 2) users attend to the element of abstract; and 3) users can recall using the per-query suggestions during the search processes. More importantly, our findings suggest that a user search interface design that displays contextual information between the suggested keywords and the document may better support users reformulating their queries for complex search tasks in the biomedical domain. We discuss implications for the design of search user interfaces for biomedical searching.

Abstract Information behavior and practices (IBP) research has been repeatedly criticized for having little impact on information systems development (ISD). Claiming that there is a complete disconnect would be an exaggeration but it is apparent that it is not always easy to translate findings of IBP research to workable design recommendations. Based on a reading of earlier literature and a closer investigation of three illustrative example contexts, this article underlines that the value of IBP research for ISD lies in its capability to inform ISD of the variety of ways people deal with information beyond individual systems, their own wants and designers' assumptions. Moreover, it highlights that the implications of information systems go beyond their primary users. Instead of overemphasizing the contextuality of findings, a part of IBP research would benefit from an increased focus on explicating its epistemological extents and limits and identifying, which findings are transferable, what distinguishes specific contexts, what are their defining constraints and priorities, and what aspects of their uniqueness are assumptions and simple clichés.

Abstract The interdisciplinary field known as digital humanities (DH) is represented in various forms in the teaching and research practiced in iSchools. Building on the work of an iSchools organization committee charged with exploring digital humanities curricula, we present findings from a series of related studies exploring aspects of DH teaching, education, and research in iSchools, often in collaboration with other units and disciplines. Through a survey of iSchool programs and an online DH course registry, we investigate the various education models for DH training found in iSchools, followed by a detailed look at DH courses and curricula, explored through analysis of course syllabi and course descriptions. We take a brief look at collaborative disciplines with which iSchools cooperate on DH research projects or in offering DH education. Next, we explore DH careers through an analysis of relevant job advertisements. Finally, we offer some observations about the management and administrative challenges and opportunities related to offering a new iSchool DH program. Our results provide a snapshot of the current state of digital humanities in iSchools which may usefully inform the design and evolution of new DH programs, degrees, and related initiatives.

This paper introduces a new test collection for ad-hoc dataset retrieval, which have been developed through a shared task called Data Search in the fifteenth NTCIR. This test collection consists of dataset collections derived from the US and Japanese governments' open data sites (i.e., Data.gov and e-Stat), as well as English and Japanese topics for these collections. Organizing the shared task in NTCIR, we conducted relevance judgments for datasets retrieved by 74 search systems, and included them in the test collection. In addition to the detailed description of the test collection, we conducted in-depth analysis on the test collection, and revealed (1) what techniques were used and effective, (2) what topics were difficult, and (3) large topic variability in the dataset retrieval task.

Building upon previous research on the concepts of inquiring minds and elicitation styles (Wu, 2005; Wu & Liu, 2003), this study aims to identify the relationships between the theoretical constructs of elicitation behavior and user satisfaction in terms of the relevance, utility, and satisfaction of search results, search interaction processes, and overall search activities. Descriptive statistical analysis is applied to compare the user satisfaction ratings with respect to the concepts of inquiring minds and elicitation styles. The results suggest that the stereotyped elicitation style received the lowest user satisfaction ratings compared with functionally and situationally oriented styles. It is suggested that the intermediaries take into account the characteristics of search questions and, accordingly, adapt their professional mindsets to search interview situations; that is, using an inquiring mind in the query formulation process as default mode with functional and situational styles of elicitations would be helpful for enhancing the user's satisfaction ratings. Future research is suggested to better understand and to improve professional talk in information services.

Abstract The current research explores how intermediaries seek information from patrons, in particular by analyzing intermediaries' elicitation utterances through three dimensions—linguistic forms, utterance purposes, and communicative functions—to determine whether indeed any dimension appeared consistently, to be called “elicitation styles.” Five intermediaries from four academic libraries (three national university libraries, one private university library) and one research institute library participated in the study. Thirty patrons with 30 genuine search requests were recruited; thus, 30 patron/intermediary information retrieval interactions making a total of 30 encounters were collected. Video/audio data were taped. Dialogues between patron and intermediary were transcribed. Statistical analysis revealed three types of elicitation styles among the five intermediaries, labeled, (1) situationally oriented, (2) functionally oriented, and (3) stereotyped. This study seeks an explanation for different elicitation styles. Qualitative analysis was applied to investigate “inquiring minds.” An inquiring mind is termed to represent a mentality or tendency that one elicits certain threads of questions influenced by professional beliefs, individual characteristics, tasks, goals, and interactional contexts in conversation. The results of qualitative analysis specified three modes of inquiring minds of the intermediaries, namely: (1) information problem detection, (2) query formulation process, and (3) database instructions.