A novice user's interface to information retrieval systems

This report describes the design of an interface for information retrieval systems intended for novice users. The main design goal is to provide a system that can be used without training, external help or documentation. Design decisions are largely based on the literature on human factors in interactive computer systems. The major design features of the system are the use of menus and fill-in-the blank modes of command entry, display windowing and an extensive two-level online help facility providing step by step guidance for the user during command/query entry. A preliminary evaluation of the system indicates that it can in fact be used by people unfamiliar with information retrieval systems, without the aid of any external help, documentation, or training.     

APL-based on-line retrieval of financial data

FACTS is an APL-based interactive on-line system used for retrieval of budget and accounting data. The system provides selective retrieval and manipulation of financial data for management in a development laboratory. The terms “teilnehmer” and “teilhaber” are defined and it is argued that use of a teilnehmer system, such as APL, can considerably reduce the programming and monitary investment for information science systems applications. A brief discussion of APL's text editing facilities is also included to introduce this relatively unknown language to information scientists.     

Passage feedback with IRIS

We compare a user-defined passage feedback (pf) system to a document feedback (df) system. Df employed the adaptive linear model for retrieval, while pf used weighted query expansion based on positive and negative feedback. Twenty-four searchers performed the same six tasks in varying search and system-order per TREC-8 guidelines. We hypothesized that pf, which featured interactive query expansion, would outperform df, which relied on automatic query expansion. Initial analysis appeared to reject this hypothesis, as df showed slightly higher overall performance than pf. However, analysis by system-order groups indicates only the first pf use had lower performance. These data suggest that pf was more difficult to learn than df, though the second pf use yielded competitive performance. If performance of pf is indeed affected by learning, an improved pf system with usability enhancements may prove to be an effective mechanism for interactive information retrieval.     

Term relevance weights in on-line information retrieval

Considerable evidence exists to show that the use of term relevance weights is beneficial in interactive information retrieval. Various term weighting systems are reviewed. An experiment is then described in which information retrieval users are asked to rank query terms in decreasing order of presumed importance prior to actual search and retrieval. The experimental design is examined, and various relevance ranking systems are evaluated, including fully automatic systems based on inverse document frequency parameters, human rankings performed by the user population, and combinations of the two.     

Iterative exploration,design and evaluation of support for query reformulation in interactive information retrieval

We report on the progressive investigation of techniques for supporting interactive query reformulation in the TREC Interactive Track. Two major issues were explored over four successive years: methods of term suggestion; and, interface design to support different system functionalities. Each year's results led to the following year's investigation, with respect to both of these issues. This paper presents first the general motivation for the entire series of studies; then an overview of each year's investigation, its results, and how they influenced the next year's investigation. We discuss what has been learned through this series of investigations about effective term suggestion, usable and useful interface design, and the relationships between these two in support of the TREC Interactive Track task. We conclude with comments about the general methodology employed over this series of studies, and its relevance to the development and evaluation of interactive information retrieval systems.     

Seeking and implementing automated assistance during the search process

Searchers seldom make use of the advanced searching features that could improve the quality of the search process because they do not know these features exist, do not understand how to use them, or do not believe they are effective or efficient. Information retrieval systems offering automated assistance could greatly improve search effectiveness by suggesting or implementing assistance automatically. A critical issue in designing such systems is determining when the system should intervene in the search process. In this paper, we report the results of an empirical study analyzing when during the search process users seek automated searching assistance from the system and when they implement the assistance. We designed a fully functional, automated assistance application and conducted a study with 30 subjects interacting with the system. The study used a 2G TREC document collection and TREC topics. Approximately 50% of the subjects sought assistance, and over 80% of those implemented that assistance. Results from the evaluation indicate that users are willing to accept automated assistance during the search process, especially after viewing results and locating relevant documents. We discuss implications for interactive information retrieval system design and directions for future research.     

EARS: An online bibliographic search and retrieval system based on ordered explosion

Ergonomics Abstracts Retrieval System (EARS) is an online bibliographic information search and retrieval system using the hierarchical subject classification of the Ergonomics Abstracts. EARS is designed using an inverted file organization and is implemented on CDC-Cyber. The data base of abstracts is organized using a fixed-length record format, where each logical record corresponds to a variable number of fixed-length physical records. Accordingly, an index for the identification of physical records from the logical records is used. The data base is inverted on a three-level hierarchical classification scheme and postings files are used for data base inversion. The data base is accessed after selectively traversing a 4-layer structure of indexes and postings files. EARS provides facilities to perform combinations of searches, limited searches, and certain editing functions. The system is currently used extensively by the Western New York Human Factors research community. The logical and physical designs of EARS, its interactive operational features, and its current expansions are described in this paper.     

Evaluating combinations of ranked lists and visualizations of inter-document similarity

We are interested in how ideas from document clustering can be used to improve the retrieval accuracy of ranked lists in interactive systems. In particular, we are interested in ways to evaluate the effectiveness of such systems to decide how they might best be constructed. In this study, we construct and evaluate systems that present the user with ranked lists and a visualization of inter-document similarities. We first carry out a user study to evaluate the clustering/ranked list combination on instance-oriented retrieval, the task of the TREC-6 Interactive Track. We find that although users generally prefer the combination, they are not able to use it to improve effectiveness. In the second half of this study, we develop and evaluate an approach that more directly combines the ranked list with information from inter-document similarities. Using the TREC collections and relevance judgments, we show that it is possible to realize substantial improvements in effectiveness by doing so, and that although users can use the combined information effectively, the system can provide hints that substantially improve on the user's solo effort. The resulting approach shares much in common with an interactive application of incremental relevance feedback. Throughout this study, we illustrate our work using two prototype systems constructed for these evaluations. The first, AspInQuery, is a classic information retrieval system augmented with a specialized tool for recording information about instances of relevance. The other system, Lighthouse, is a Web-based application that combines a ranked list with a portrayal of inter-document similarity. Lighthouse can work with collections such as TREC, as well as the results of Web search engines.     

新工科车辆工程专业互动式教学研究及实践

新工科体系下的车辆工程学科建立以目标为导向的课程体系,在此背景下进行了课堂设计的革新,打破以教师单一授课为主的传统授课模式、构建以学生为中心的互动式教学模式,进行了互动式教学的方法研究与课堂设计,提出了互动式教学实施构架,以“汽车现代技术”为载体,进行了互动式教学方法的深度实践。结果表明,互动式教学可以有效调动学生自主学习的积极性,提高专业课教学效果。     

基于FlexPaper的文献共享系统设计与实现——以广西民族大学图书馆为例

提出一种以Web2．0为基础的文献共享系统框架,采用交互式的形式实现信息资源的共建共享,检索结果以在线可视化的方式展现,极大地提高了用户获取信息的效率。系统采用MVC架构进行设计,具有层次化、模块化和分布式的特点和良好的可扩展性。     

基于Ajax的交互式检索

探讨了Ajax及其技术原理,分析了交互式检索的发展及特点,给出了Ajax在检索中应用的实例。分析了利用Ajax跟踪用户个性化信息的实现方案。在此基础上,提出了基于Ajax的交互式检索系统模型,对模型的主要功能进行了阐述。     

基于Ontology的科学数据共享检索体系解析

本文介绍了数据共享检索系统所采用的开发平台和工具,构建了基于Ontology的数据共享检索体系,指出了该体系的主要模块以及关键技术.目前,已经初步建立了基于仪表领域本体的智能检索系统,并实现了简单的语义查询功能.     

TOXLINE: evolution of an online interactive bibliographic database.

The National Library of Medicine has offered TOXLINE, an online interactive bibliographic database of biomedical (toxicology) information since 1972. Files from 11 secondary sources comprise the TOXLINE database. The sources supplied bibliographic records in different formats and data structures. Data from each supplier's format had to be converted into a format suitable for TOXLINE. Three different, successive retrieval systems were used for the TOXLINE database which required reformatting of the data. Algorithms for generating terms for inverted file search methods were tested. Special characters peculiar to the scientific literature were evaluated during search term generation. Developing search term algorithms for chemical names in the scientific literature required techniques different from those used for nonscientific literature. Problems with replication of bibliographic records from multiple secondary sources are described. Some observations about online interactive databases since TOXLINE was first offered are noted.     

On the role of user-centred evaluation in the advancement of interactive information retrieval

This paper discusses the role of user-centred evaluations as an essential method for researching interactive information retrieval. It draws mainly on the work carried out during the Clarity Project where different user-centred evaluations were run during the lifecycle of a cross-language information retrieval system. The iterative testing was not only instrumental to the development of a usable system, but it enhanced our knowledge of the potential, impact, and actual use of cross-language information retrieval technology. Indeed the role of the user evaluation was dual: by testing a specific prototype it was possible to gain a micro-view and assess the effectiveness of each component of the complex system; by cumulating the result of all the evaluations (in total 43 people were involved) it was possible to build a macro-view of how cross-language retrieval would impact on users and their tasks. By showing the richness of results that can be acquired, this paper aims at stimulating researchers into considering user-centred evaluations as a flexible, adaptable and comprehensive technique for investigating non-traditional information access systems.     

CIDER: Concept-based image diversification,exploration, and retrieval

Many of the approaches to image retrieval on the Web have their basis in text retrieval. However, when searchers are asked to describe their image needs, the resulting query is often short and potentially ambiguous. The solution we propose is to perform automatic query expansion using Wikipedia as the source knowledge base, resulting in a diversification of the search results. The outcome is a broad range of images that represent the various possible interpretations of the query. In order to assist the searcher in finding images that match their specific intentions for the query, we have developed an image organization method that uses both the conceptual information associated with each image, and the visual features extracted from the images. This, coupled with a hierarchical organization of the concepts, provides an interactive interface that takes advantage of the searchers’ abilities to recognize relevant concepts, filter and focus the search results based on these concepts, and visually identify relevant images while navigating within the image space. In this paper, we outline the key features of our image retrieval system (CIDER), and present the results of a preliminary user evaluation. The results of this study illustrate the potential benefits that CIDER can provide for searchers conducting image retrieval tasks.     

知识、语言、语境和锚文本——知识检索系统界面的语用设计

知识检索过程必须借助于语言工具来实现,这一过程在用户同系统知识库的交互中,表现为知识→语言→知识→……的互相转换过程。在知识检索中普遍存在语境支持等语用现象,这些现象尤其集中存在于人机交互的检索界面,而其中的锚文本等及其分布构成了检索交流中重要的语境支持信息。知识检索系统界面的语用设计直接决定了系统检索的成效。系统界面及锚文本的语用设计的基本要求包括语境充分和整体优化等。     

Model-driven formative evaluation of exploratory search: A study under a sensemaking framework

The evaluation of exploratory search relies on the ongoing paradigm shift from focusing on the search algorithm to focusing on the interactive process. This paper proposes a model-driven formative evaluation approach, in which the goal is not the evaluation of a specific system, per se, but the exploration of new design possibilities. This paper gives an example of this approach where a model of sensemaking was used to inform the evaluation of a basic exploratory search system(s) in the context of a sensemaking task. The model suggested that, rather than just looking at simple search performance measures, we should examine closely the interwoven, interactive processes of both representation construction and information seeking. Participants were asked to make sense of an unfamiliar topic using an augmented query-based search system. The processes of representation construction and information seeking were captured and analyzed using data from experiment notes, interviews, and a system log. The data analysis revealed users’ sources of ideas for structuring representations and a tightly coupled relationship between search and representation construction in their exploratory searches. For example, users strategically used search to find useful structure ideas instead of just accumulating information facts. Implications for improving current search systems and designing new systems are discussed.