This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/10662249810368879. When citing the…
Abstract
This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/10662249810368879. When citing the article, please cite: Eileen G. Abelse, Marilyn Domas White, Karla Hahn, (1998), “A user-based design process for Web sites”, Internet Research, Vol. 8 Iss 1 pp. 39 - 48.
The history of the development of Historical Statistics of the United States over three editions and two supplements offers an interesting case study in federal…
Abstract
The history of the development of Historical Statistics of the United States over three editions and two supplements offers an interesting case study in federal government‐professional organization cooperation. In this article, White uses new sources to show the perspective of the economists and historians who were deeply involved in its development and the activities of their professional associations, including the Social Science Research Council, the American Economics Association, the Economic History Association, and the American Statistical Association, in working with the Bureau of the Census. As White shows, the relationship differs from the more common funder‐fundee relationship seen in other government‐professional organization collaborations for the production of information sources.
This article characterises the questioning behaviour in reference interviews preceding delegated online searches of bibliographic databases and relates it to questioning behaviour…
Abstract
This article characterises the questioning behaviour in reference interviews preceding delegated online searches of bibliographic databases and relates it to questioning behaviour in other types of interviews/settings. With one exception, the unit of analysis is the question (N=610), not the interview. The author uses A.C. Graesser‘s typology of questions to analyse type of question and M.D. White’s typology of information categories to determine the question‘s content objective; this is the first application of Graesser’s typology to interview questions in any setting. Graesser‘s categories allow for a more subtle understanding of the kind of information need underlying a question. Comparisons are made between questions asked by the information specialist and those asked by the client. Findings show that the information specialist dominates the interview, about half the questions were verification questions and about 22% were judgemental questions or requests; all but four types of questions from Graesser’s categories appeared in the interviews, but no new question types were discovered. Clients often phrase questions as requests. In content, both clients and information specialists focus on the subject and service requested, but the clients ask also about search strategy and output features. Both parties ask predominantly short‐answer questions. Results are related to interface design for retrieval systems.
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Mirja Iivonen and Marilyn Domas White
This paper uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology to analyse differences between Finnish and American web searchers (n=27 per country) in their choice of initial…
Abstract
This paper uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology to analyse differences between Finnish and American web searchers (n=27 per country) in their choice of initial search strategies (direct address, subject directory and search engines) and their reasoning underlying these choices, with data gathered via a questionnaire. The paper looks at these differences for four types of questions with two variables: closed/open and predictable/unpredictable source of answer (n=16 questions per searcher; total n=864 questions). The paper found significant differences between the two groups’ initial search strategies and for three of the four types of questions. The reasoning varied across countries and questions as well, with Finns mentioning fewer reasons although both groups mentioned in aggregate a total of 1,284 reasons in twenty‐four reason categories. The reasoning indicated that both country groups considered not only question‐related reasons but also source‐ and search‐strategy related reasons in making their decision. The research raises questions about considering cultural differences in designing web search access mechanisms.
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Eileen G. Abelse, Marilyn Domas White and Karla Hahn
This paper reports on Phase II of a two‐part project to identify and implement user‐based design criteria in World Wide Web sites. The test site is a Web page for the academic…
Abstract
This paper reports on Phase II of a two‐part project to identify and implement user‐based design criteria in World Wide Web sites. The test site is a Web page for the academic business community. As an alternative to existing, largely ad hoc design processes, the authors developed a user‐based design process, gathering user input at three different times in the process. Delineating this four‐stage process (information‐gathering; development; test and evaluation; and implementation) is a major focus of the paper. In addition to explaining the process in detail, the paper reports on the second stage of this process, which involves operationalizing definitions of the criteria and translating the criteria into Web page features and, to some extent, on the evaluation activities undertaken during Stage 3. Already reported are the results of Stage 1, which gathered user criteria for evaluating Web sites through a focus group session.
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Marilyn Domas White, Miriam Matteson and Eileen G. Abels
This paper characterizes translation as a task and aims to identify how it influences professional translators' information needs and use of resources to meet those needs.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper characterizes translation as a task and aims to identify how it influences professional translators' information needs and use of resources to meet those needs.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is exploratory and qualitative. Data are based on focus group sessions with 19 professional translators. Where appropriate, findings are related to several theories relating task characteristics and information behavior (IB).
Findings
The findings support some of Byström's findings about relationship between task and information use but also suggest new hypotheses or relationships among task, information need, and information use, including the notion of a zone of familiarity. Translators use a wide range of resources, both formal and informal, localized sources, including personal contacts with other translators, native speakers, and domain experts, to supplement their basic resources, which are different types of dictionaries. The study addresses translator problems created by the need to translate materials in less commonly taught languages.
Research limitations/implications
Focus group sessions allow only for identifying concepts, relationships, and hypotheses, not for indicating the relative importance of variables or distribution across individuals. Translation does not cover literary translation.
Practical implications
The paper suggests content and features of workstations offering access to wide range of resources for professional translators.
Originality/value
Unlike other information behavior studies of professional translators, this article focuses on a broad range of resources, not just on dictionary use. It also identifies information problems associated not only with normal task activities, but also with translators' moving out of their zone of familiarity, i.e. their range of domain, language, and style expertise. The model of translator IB is potentially generalizable to other groups and both supports and expands other task‐related research.
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Eileen G. Abels, Marilyn Domas White and Karla Hahn
Reports on Phase I of a two‐part project to identify and implement user‐based design criteria in World Wide Web pages. The purpose of the identification phase (Phase I) is to…
Abstract
Reports on Phase I of a two‐part project to identify and implement user‐based design criteria in World Wide Web pages. The purpose of the identification phase (Phase I) is to identify the criteria that influence a particular user community’s use of the Web and to analyze these within the context of the users’ overall information‐gathering behavior. Data were gathered through a questionnaire and electronic focus group session with nine faculty from four business schools. Participants identified 49 Web page features which clustered into eight broad categories of criteria having a significant positive or negative impact on their use of WWW pages. They also identified types of information normally used in work activities; methods of finding this information within the current information service environment; likely changes in behavior if the information became available via the Web, including willingness to pay.
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Emily E. Marsh and Marilyn Domas White
The paper establishes a taxonomy of image‐text relationships that reflects the ways that images and text interact. It is applicable to all subject areas and document types. The…
Abstract
The paper establishes a taxonomy of image‐text relationships that reflects the ways that images and text interact. It is applicable to all subject areas and document types. The taxonomy was developed to answer the research question: how does an illustration relate to the text with which it is associated, or, what are the functions of illustration? Developed in a two‐stage process – first, analysis of relevant research in children's literature, dictionary development, education, journalism, and library and information design and, second, subsequent application of the first version of the taxonomy to 954 image‐text pairs in 45 Web pages (pages with educational content for children, online newspapers, and retail business pages) – the taxonomy identifies 49 relationships and groups them in three categories according to the closeness of the conceptual relationship between image and text. The paper uses qualitative content analysis to illustrate use of the taxonomy to analyze four image‐text pairs in government publications and discusses the implications of the research for information retrieval and document design.