Facing and bridging gaps in Web searching

Drawing on the ideas of the Sense-Making approach, the ways in which people face and bridge gaps in Web searching are analyzed. The empirical study is based on videotaped Web searches conducted by seven participants. Altogether 11 gaps and 13 search tactics of various types were identified. The gaps faced by the searchers originated from three major factors: problematic content of information, insufficient search competence and problems caused by the search environment. Of individual gaps, no relevant material available, inaccessible content and confusion were most frequent. Of the search tactics used in gap-bridging, following links and activating the Back button were most popular. Gaps related to the problematic content of information led the informants to redirect the search to find Web pages that focus better on the search topic. If the movement was stopped by insufficient search competence, the searchers tended to return to material that was familiar from earlier use contexts in order to regain control of the search process. Alternatively, they tried to specify the search terms. In cases where the search was interrupted by technical problems or other factors originating from the search system, gap-bridging aimed at returning to familiar and technically reliable links. The Sense-Making theory provides relevant conceptual tools to approach the dynamic and discontinuous nature of Web searching in terms of gap-facing and gap-bridging. The concept of gap-facing enables a context-sensitive analysis of the ways in which Web search processes may be stopped. Gap-bridging indicates a general level motive to find alternative ways to continue searching.     

Analysis of multiple query reformulations on the web: The interactive information retrieval context

This study examines the facets and patterns of multiple Web query reformulations with a focus on reformulation sequences. Based on IR interaction models, it was presumed that query reformulation is the product of the interaction between the user and the IR system. Query reformulation also reflects the interplay between the surface and deeper levels of user interaction. Query logs were collected from a Web search engine through the selection of search sessions in which users submitted six or more unique queries per session. The final data set was composed of 313 search sessions. Three facets of query reformulation (content, format, and resource) as well as nine sub-facets were derived from the data. In addition, analysis of modification sequences identified eight distinct patterns: specified, generalized, parallel, building-block, dynamic, multitasking, recurrent, and format reformulation. Adapting Saracevic’s stratified model, the authors develop a model of Web query reformulation based on the results of the study. The implications for Web search engine design are finally discussed and the functions of an interactive reformulation tool are suggested.     

Tagging and searching: Search retrieval effectiveness of folksonomies on the World Wide Web

Many Web sites have begun allowing users to submit items to a collection and tag them with keywords. The folksonomies built from these tags are an interesting topic that has seen little empirical research. This study compared the search information retrieval (IR) performance of folksonomies from social bookmarking Web sites against search engines and subject directories. Thirty-four participants created 103 queries for various information needs. Results from each IR system were collected and participants judged relevance. Folksonomy search results overlapped with those from the other systems, and documents found by both search engines and folksonomies were significantly more likely to be judged relevant than those returned by any single IR system type. The search engines in the study had the highest precision and recall, but the folksonomies fared surprisingly well. Del.icio.us was statistically indistinguishable from the directories in many cases. Overall the directories were more precise than the folksonomies but they had similar recall scores. Better query handling may enhance folksonomy IR performance further. The folksonomies studied were promising, and may be able to improve Web search performance.     

Classifying web genres in context: A case study documenting the web genres used by a software engineer

This case study analyzes the Internet-based resources that a software engineer uses in his daily work. Methodologically, we studied the web browser history of the participant, classifying all the web pages he had seen over a period of 12 days into web genres. We interviewed him before and after the analysis of the web browser history. In the first interview, he spoke about his general information behavior; in the second, he commented on each web genre, explaining why and how he used them. As a result, three approaches allow us to describe the set of 23 web genres obtained: (a) the purposes they serve for the participant; (b) the role they play in the various work and search phases; (c) and the way they are used in combination with each other. Further observations concern the way the participant assesses quality of web-based resources, and his information behavior as a software engineer.     

试析内容分析法在社科情报学中的应用

本文概要介绍了内容分析法,阐述了内容分析法的一般步骤和基本特征,并对内容分析法在社科情报研究中的应用以及将其移植改造为社科情报学特殊方法的可能性和必要性进行了初步探索。     

Information avoidance behavior on social network sites: Information irrelevance,overload, and the moderating role of time pressure

Drawing on the stressor-strain-outcome framework, this study investigates how information irrelevance and overload induce social network fatigue, and the relationship of these variables to users’ information avoidance behavior. It also examines the conditions under which social network fatigue is more likely to be translated into information avoidance behavior. The analysis of data collected from 341 users of WeChat Moments suggests that information irrelevance directly leads to information avoidance behavior, and social media fatigue as a mediator partially mediates the impact of information overload on information avoidance behavior and fully mediates the impact of social overload on information avoidance behavior. Furthermore, time pressure strengthens the effect of social network fatigue on information avoidance behavior. This study fulfills the identified need for an in-depth investigation of actual discontinuous behavior in social network services (SNSs) by investigating information avoidance behavior and its antecedents. The findings provide SNSs providers with guidelines on how to manage users’ behavior so that they remain active users of the SNSs.     

Roles of alternative and self-oriented perspectives in the context of the continued use of social network sites

Individuals with a positive evaluation of a target system are likely to continue using the system, and this sustained use is likely to result in continued use. This target-oriented perspective has served as a major conceptual framework for understanding users’ behaviors in online contexts. The primary objective of this paper is to address two additional perspectives—alternative- and self-oriented perspectives—for a firmer understanding of continued use in the context of social network sites (SNS). A research model is built by employing regret and self-image congruity to represent these two perspectives. The model also examines the condition under which habits are formed and how this automatic mechanism influences the dynamics of the nomological network between intentions and behaviors. The analysis results of two rounds of surveys for capturing the actual link between intentions and behaviors indicate that regret and self-image congruity can play crucial roles in post-adoption phenomena in the context of SNS.     

Lock in, the state and vaccine development: Lessons from the history of the polio vaccines

Over the past two decades pharmaceutical industry interest in the development of vaccines against infectious diseases has grown. At the same time various partnerships and mechanisms have been established in order to reconcile the interests of private industry with the needs of public health systems (especially in the developing world). The general assumption is that, lacking resources and competences, the public sector has little or no role to play in vaccine development. Drawing on the concept of ‘lock in’, and the history of vaccines against poliomyelitis, this paper advances a different set of considerations relevant to the role of the public sector. It was thanks to public sector R&D, driven by technical and public health considerations, not commercial ones, that a vaccine that had been virtually ‘locked out’ of the world markets was improved, and expertise in its production sustained. This vaccine now plays a crucial role in current attempts at eradicating polio. It is suggested that despite subsequent changes in vaccine technology, their different incentive structure requires acknowledgement in current discussion of the potential contribution of public sector vaccine institutes to vaccine innovation.     

国内网络问答社区研究现状、热点及趋势分析——基于文献计量与内容归纳分析

【目的/意义】文章对国内网络问答社区相关研究进行了考察,旨在分析其发展现状、热点主题以及未来发 展趋势,以期为该领域的深化发展提供参考。【方法/过程】主要使用了文献计量与内容归纳法对383篇期刊文献进 行了分析。【结果/结论】国内网络问答社区相关研究将继续呈指数趋势增长;所调查的期刊文献集中分布在少数学 科领域、核心期刊、核心机构中;国内网络问答社区研究可归纳为3个发展阶段,其研究主题聚焦于6个方面;未来 发展中,机构间、学者间的交互程度将进一步加强,多学科协同将成为促进领域知识体系不断完善的重要因素,知 识服务成为该领域发展的重要方向,新技术应用将驱动网络问答社区向智能化、学习化方向发展。     

粤港澳大湾区出口制造业高质量发展水平评价——基于犹豫模糊熵权与TOPSIS模型的实证分析

为寻找粤港澳大湾区制造业高质量发展的新动力和新方向，以2012—2019年粤港澳大湾区12个出口制造行业为样本，从产业发展视角提出以结构优化、质量进步、技术创新为核心内容的出口制造业高质量发展理论模型，运用犹豫模糊熵权和TOPSIS法进行量化评测，实证分析粤港澳大湾区出口制造行业高质量发展的现状、优劣势以及实现升级的具体路径。研究发现，粤港澳大湾区的出口制造业高质量发展总体上处在中等偏上水平，呈现一定的波动增长态势，其中行业结构水平成为该区域的优势项，但同时也存在行业发展不平衡、市场感知不足、研发创新能力提升空间大、代工思维影响遗留较强等问题；鞋类、服装、箱包等劳动密集型和资源依赖型制造业的行业结构水平较低、创新能力较弱。为此，粤港澳大湾区要进一步深化供给侧结构性改革，推动出口制造业与智能制造的融合发展，同时加强国家质量基础设施建设，实施品牌战略和强化质量品牌建设等。