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Dissertation Information for Raya Fidel

NAME:
- Raya Fidel

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Maryland (USA) (1982)

ADVISORS:
- Dagobert Soergel

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Irene Lathrop Travis
- Jerry S. Kidd
- Ben Abraham Shneiderman
- Frederick William Betz

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: CONSTRUCTING A PATTERN MODEL OF MAN-MACHINE INTERACTION IN ONLINE LITERATURE SEARCHING

Abstract: This study describes searching behavior of experienced online searchers. It focuses on the interaction process and constructs a pattern model of searching behavior.

The description is based on observing five experienced online searchers doing their regular, job-related searches, and on analyzing 10 to 13 searches conducted by each of them. The searchers were observed systematically one after the other, and they verbalized their thought processes. This verbalization was recorded, and together with available written material (e.g., the search protocol) served as the basis for the pattern model, which was constructed using the case study method with controlled comparisons.

Two styles of searching are identified: the operationalist and the conceptualist. Operationalist searchers aim at optimal strategies to achieve precise retrieval. They use a large range of system capabilities in their interaction; they preserve the specific meaning of the request and the aim of their iterations is a set to represent it precisely. Conceptualist searchers analyze a request by fitting it into a faceted structure. They first enter the facet that represents the most important aspect of the request. Their search is then centered on retrieving subsets from this primary set by introducing the additional facets. In contrast to the operationalists, they are mainly concerned with recall and during the interaction they preserve the faceted structure, but may change the specific meaning of the request.

The identification of patterns of searching has implications for practical work and research in online searching. Two tests show that novice and experienced searchers benefit from being exposed to the model. The model aids in identifying the role of a searcher within a search unit; it aids the system designer; it is used to interpret results of previous experiments and to develop suggestions for further research, including using the model as a basis for further development of theoretical analyses. Finally, the study demonstrates the usefulness of the pattern model approach in information science.

MPACT Scores for Raya Fidel

A = 2
C = 4
A+C = 6
T = 2
G = 1
W = 2
TD = 2
TA = 0
calculated 2011-03-28 21:36:35

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