Human-computer interaction in information seeking tasks

The third in a series of experiments utilizing a simulated online bibliographic information seeking environment called DBASE is discussed. Variables considered in the study are computer aiding, availability of citation lists, data base structure, and type of search task. Effects of these variables on six performance measures are examined using analysis of variance. Linear discriminant analysis is utilized to provide a more fine-grained analysis of important problem features and to form a basis for investigating differences among individual searchers and the dynamic nature of information seeking tasks.