Login

Publications  •  Project Statistics

Glossary  •  Schools  •  Disciplines
People Search: 
   
Title/Abstract Search: 

Dissertation Information for Mark Rorvig

NAME:
- Mark Rorvig
- (Alias) Mark Evan. Rorvig

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Berkeley (USA) (1985)

ADVISORS:
- William S. Cooper

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- John Graham Myers
- Gary John Russell

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: AN EXPERIMENT IN HUMAN PREFERENCES FOR DOCUMENTS IN A SIMULATED INFORMATION SYSTEM

Abstract: Utility has emerged in the last fifteen years as a central theory in the evaluation and construction of information systems. However, most work in Information Science involving Utility relies on axiomatic, decision theoretic traditions in which a value scale is derived from use of the decision axioms themselves. Another method of deriving a value scale involves psychological Utility in which various principles by which humans choose stimuli may be empirically demonstrated or rejected. One such principle, arising from Mathematical Psychology is known as Simple Scalability. The significance of Simple Scalability is that it implies three other important properties of scales: Moderate stochastic transitivity, substitutibility, and the independence of irrelevant alternatives. Simple Scalability has been shown to approximate human choice in a number of stimulus domains. The task of this experiment is to explore the applicability of this principle to the stimulus domain of documents through an examination of two classic models of choice: The Random Utility Model and the Luce Choice Axiom. Tests of these models indicate that Simple Scalability does provide a useful approximation of document choice in information systems. It is also shown that secondary demographic variables are of little value in understanding human patterns of document choice. It is suggested that variants of Choice by Elimination models may improve the precision of searching online systems. Various practical applications involving the measurement techniques used in this experiment are suggested.

MPACT Scores for Mark Rorvig

A = 5
C = 0
A+C = 5
T = 6
G = 2
W = 5
TD = 5.5
TA = 1
calculated 2008-01-31 06:21:13

Advisors and Advisees Graph