A behavioural approach to information retrieval system design is outlined based on the derivation of a behavioural model of the information seeking patterns of academic social scientists. The information seeking patterns of a variety of academic social scientists were broken down into six characteristics: starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring, and extracting. These characteristics constitute the principal generic features of the different individual patterns, and together provide a flexible behavioural model for information retrieval system design. The extent to which these characteristics are available on existing systems is considered, and the requirements for implementing the features on an experimental system are set out.

A behavioral approach to information retrieval system design

The objective of this study was to describe the criteria mentioned by users evaluating the information within documents as it related to the users' information need situations. Data were collected by asking users in an academic environment to evaluate representations and the full text of documents that had been retrieved specifically for each user's information need situation. Users were asked to mark the portions of the document representations or of the full text of documents that indicated to the users whether they would or would not pursue the information within documents. An open-ended interview technique was then employed to discuss each marked portion with users. The interviews were audiotaped, the tapes transcribed, and the transcriptions were content analyzed in order to identify and describe evaluation criteria.



The results indicate that the criteria employed by users included tangible characteristics of documents (e.g., the information content of the document, the provision of references to other sources of information), subjective qualities (e.g., agreement with the information provided by the document) and situational factors (e.g., the time constraints under which the user was working). The implications of this research for our understanding of the concept of relevance, and for the design and evaluation of information retrieval systems, are discussed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

User-defined relevance criteria: an exploratory study

A behavioural model derived from analysis of the informa tion-seeking patterns of academic social scientists is employed to provide recommendations for information retrieval system design. The six major characteristics identified in the informa tion-seeking patterns-starting, chaining, browsing, differenti ating, monitoring and extracting-are descnbed in relation to retrieval system facilities, and the possibility of implementing an experimental system in a hypertext environment is consid ered.

A behavioural model for information retrieval system design

Discussion in the research community and among the general public regarding content indexing (especially subject indexing) and access to digital resources, especially on the Internet, has underutilized research on a variety of factors that are important in the design of such access mechanisms Some of these factors and issues are reviewed and implications drawn for information system design in the era of electronic access Specifically the following are discussed: Human factors: Subject searching vs indexing, multiple terms of access, folk classification, basic-level terms, and folk access; Database factors: Bradford's Law, vocabulary scalability, the Resnikoff-Dolby 30:1 Rule; Domain factors: Role of domain in indexing

Indexing and access for digital libraries and the Internet: human, database, and domain factors

The paper discusses the notion of steps in indexing and reveals that the document-centered approach to indexing is prevalent and argues that the document-centered approach is problematic because it blocks out context-dependent factors in the indexing process. A domain-centered approach to indexing is presented as an alternative and the paper discusses how this approach includes a broader range of analyses and how it requires a new set of actions from using this approach; analysis of the domain, users and indexers. The paper concludes that the two-step procedure to indexing is insufficient to explain the indexing process and suggests that the domain-centered approach offers a guide for indexers that can help them manage the complexity of indexing.

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Analysis in indexing: document and domain centered approaches

Conventional information systems, founded on objectivist assumptions, are inappropriate for social scientists. Starting from a sociological standpoint, this article proposes an alternative type of system, developed during research with a group of subject specialists.

Dawn A. Bramer

Papers

A Sociological Approach to the Design of Information Systems.