Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

The T lymphocyte, especially its capacity for antigen-directed cytotoxicity, has become a central focus for engaging the immune system in the fight against cancer. Basic science discoveries elucidating the molecular and cellular biology of the T cell have led to new strategies in this fight, including checkpoint blockade, adoptive cellular therapy and cancer vaccinology. This area of immunological research has been highly active for the past 50 years and is now enjoying unprecedented bench-to-bedside clinical success. Here, we provide a comprehensive historical and biological perspective regarding the advent and clinical implementation of cancer immunotherapeutics, with an emphasis on the fundamental importance of T lymphocyte regulation. We highlight clinical trials that demonstrate therapeutic efficacy and toxicities associated with each class of drug. Finally, we summarize emerging therapies and emphasize the yet to be elucidated questions and future promise within the field of cancer immunotherapy.

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A guide to cancer immunotherapy: from T cell basic science to clinical practice.

Seeking meaning: A process approach to library and information services

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The trouble with computers: Usefulness, usability and productivity

In this article, we examine the conceptual models that help us understand the development and sustainability of scholarly and professional communication forums on the Internet, such as conferences, pre-print servers, field-wide data sets, and collaboratories. We first present and document the information processing model that is implicitly advanced in most discussions about scholarly communications-the "Standard Model." Then we present an alternative model, one that considers information technologies as Socio-Technical Interaction Networks (STINs). STIN models provide a richer understanding of human behavior with online scholarly communications forums. They also help to further a more complete understanding of the conditions and activities that support the sustainability of these forums within a field than does the Standard Model. We illustrate the significance of STIN models with examples of scholarly communication forums drawn from the fields of high-energy physics, molecular biology, and information systems. The article also includes a method for modeling electronic forums as STINs.

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A bit more to it: scholarly communication forums as socio-technical interaction networks

Although many studies have identified search tactics, few studies have explored tactic transitions. This study investigated the transitions of search tactics during the Web-based search process. Bringing their own 60 search tasks, 31 participants, representing the general public with different demographic characteristics, participated in the study. Data collected from search logs and verbal protocols were analyzed by applying both qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings of this study show that participants exhibited some unique Web search tactics. They overwhelmingly employed accessing and evaluating tactics; they used fewer tactics related to modifying search statements, monitoring the search process, organizing search results, and learning system features. The contributing factors behind applying most and least frequently employed search tactics are in relation to users' efforts, trust in information retrieval (IR) systems, preference, experience, and knowledge as well as limitation of the system design. A matrix of search-tactic transitions was created to show the probabilities of transitions from one tactic to another. By applying fifth-order Markov chain, the results also presented the most common search strategies representing patterns of tactic transition occurring at the beginning, middle, and ending phases within one search session. The results of this study generated detailed and useful guidance for IR system design to support the most frequently applied tactics and transitions, to reduce unnecessary transitions, and support transitions at different phases. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transitions in search tactics during the Web-based search process

The emergence of the Internet allows millions of people to use a variety of electronic information retrieval systems, such as: digital libraries, Web search engines, online databases, and online public access catalogs. Interactive Information Retrieval in Digital Environments provides theoretical framework in understanding the nature of information retrieval, and offers implications for the design and evolution of interactive information retrieval systems. Interactive Information Retrieval in Digital Environments includes the integration of existing frameworks on user-oriented information retrieval systems across multiple disciplines; the comprehensive review of empirical studies of interactive information retrieval systems for different types of users, tasks, and subtasks; and the discussion of how to evaluate interactive information retrieval systems. Researchers, designers, teachers, scholars, and professionals will gain the foundation for new research on this subject matter, and guidance to evaluate new information retrieval systems for the general public as well as for specific user groups.

Interactive Information Retrieval in Digital Environments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applications of social media in digital libraries and identify related problems. Design/methodology/approach – A total of ten institutions were selected from the following cultural institution types – public libraries, academic libraries, museums, government, and international organisations – to represent a variety of digital libraries developed or sponsored by different types of organisations. The social media applications were examined with regard to the following aspects: types of social media, placement of social media, updating social media, types of interactions, and types of functions. Findings – This study presents the types of social media applications in the selected digital libraries and further characterises their placements, update frequency, types of interactions between digital librarians and users, as well as various types of roles they played. In the process of analysis the authors also identified problems related to lack of standa...

Social media application in digital libraries

This study investigated whether and how different factors in relation to task, user-perceived knowledge, search process, and system affect users' search tactic selection. Thirty-one participants, representing the general public with their own tasks, were recruited for this study. Multiple methods were employed to collect data, including pre-questionnaire, verbal protocols, log analysis, diaries, and post-questionnaires. Statistical analysis revealed that seven factors were significantly associated with tactic selection. These factors consist of work task types, search task types, familiarity with topic, search skills, search session length, search phases, and system types. Moreover, the study also discovered, qualitatively, in what ways these factors influence the selection of search tactics. Based on the findings, the authors discuss practical implications for system design to support users' application of multiple search tactics for each factor.

Factors affecting the selection of search tactics: Tasks, knowledge, process, and systems

To date, there has been little empirical research investigating the specific types of help-seeking situations that arise when people interact with information in new searching environments such as digital libraries. This article reports the results of a project focusing on the identification of different types of help-seeking situations, along with types of factors that precipitate them among searchers of two different digital libraries. Participants (N = 120) representing the general public in Milwaukee and New York City were selected for this study. Based on the analysis of multiple sources of data, the authors identify 15 types of help-seeking situations among this sample of novice digital library users. These situations are related to the searching activities involved in getting started, identifying relevant digital collections, browsing for information, constructing search statements, refining searches, monitoring searches, and evaluating results. Multiple factors that determine the occurrences of each type of help-seeking situation also are identified. The article concludes with a model that represents user, system, task, and interaction outcome as codeterminates in the formation of help-seeking situations, and presents the theoretical and practical implications of the study results. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Iris Xie

Papers

Transitions in search tactics during the Web-based search process

Interactive Information Retrieval in Digital Environments

Social media application in digital libraries

Factors affecting the selection of search tactics: Tasks, knowledge, process, and systems

Understanding help seeking within the context of searching digital libraries