Search results

The paper investigates the advantages of graphical mapping of national research publication and citation profiles from scientific fields in order to provide additional information with respect to research performance. By means of multi‐dimensional scaling techniques national social science profiles from seventeen OECD countries and two periods, 1989‐1993 and 1994‐1998, are mapped, each profile represented by a vector of either publication volumes or citation values for nine social science fields. Aside from demonstrating the developments of publication volumes and citedness ranges as well as patterns, the graphical maps display clusters and similarities of national profiles over time. Combined with international rankings of averaged national impact factors (NIF) relative to the average world impact of field (WIF) for the same number of fields and periods, the graphical display supplies additional otherwise concealed information of the differences in research patterns between countries – even when the NIFs are quite similar. The analyses show that low Pearson correlation coefficients can be applied to flag extraordinary instances of either high or low national citation impacts during a period. Most importantly, the graphical maps make a strong case for adjusting or tuning the baseline impact to the actual national publication profiles when comparing NIFs of different countries. A new indicator, the Tuned Citation Impact Index (TCII) is proposed. It is constructed from the amount of expected citations a country ought to have received in each research field aggregated over its true profile. Common baseline profiles, like those of the world or EU, are consequently not regarded as the ideal benchmark. In the case illustrated by the journal publications of the social sciences the paper verifies the hypothesis that a dominant central cluster exists consisting of the large Anglo‐American countries: USA, Canada and the UK. A further hypothesis, that the smaller northern EU countries with English as the second language are located together and close to the central cluster on the publication maps is only partly satisfied in the second period. A third hypothesis, that countries located near the central cluster on the citation maps may hold high(er) NIFs is falsified.

The purpose of this paper is to report a study of how the test instrument of a simulated work task situation is used in empirical evaluations of interactive information retrieval (IIR) and reported in the research literature. In particular, the author is interested to learn whether the requirements of how to employ simulated work task situations are followed, and whether these requirements call for further highlighting and refinement.

In order to study how simulated work task situations are used, the research literature in question is identified. This is done partly via citation analysis by use of Web of Science®, and partly by systematic search of online repositories. On this basis, 67 individual publications were identified and they constitute the sample of analysis.

The analysis reveals a need for clarifications of how to use simulated work task situations in IIR evaluations. In particular, with respect to the design and creation of realistic simulated work task situations. There is a lack of tailoring of the simulated work task situations to the test participants. Likewise, the requirement to include the test participants’ personal information needs is neglected. Further, there is a need to add and emphasise a requirement to depict the used simulated work task situations when reporting the IIR studies.

Insight about the use of simulated work task situations has implications for test design of IIR studies and hence the knowledge base generated on the basis of such studies.

Simulated work task situations are widely used in IIR studies, and the present study is the first comprehensive study of the intended and unintended use of this test instrument since its introduction in the late 1990’s. The paper addresses the need to carefully design and tailor simulated work task situations to suit the test participants in order to obtain the intended authentic and realistic IIR under study.

In vol. 6, 1976, of Advances in Librarianship, I published a review about relevance under the same title, without, of course, “Part I” in the title (Saracevic, 1976). [A substantively similar article was published in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science (Saracevic, 1975)]. I did not plan then to have another related review 30 years later—but things happen. The 1976 work “attempted to trace the evolution of thinking on relevance, a key notion in information science, [and] to provide a framework within which the widely dissonant ideas on relevance might be interpreted and related to one another” (ibid.: 338).

The purpose of this paper is to explore the question of whether the differences between meaning in philosophy and meaning in information retrieval (IR) have implications for the use of philosophy in supporting research in IR.

The approach takes the form of a conceptual analysis and literature review.

There are some differences in the role of meaning in terms of purpose, content and use which should be clarified in order to assist a productive relationship between the philosophy of language and IR.

This provides some new theoretical insights into the philosophical context of IR. It suggests that further productive work on the central concepts within IR could be achieved through the use of a methodology which analyses how exactly these concepts are discussed in other disciplines and the implications of any differences in the way in which they may operate in IR.

The paper suggests a new perspective on the relationship between philosophy and IR by exploring the role of meaning in these respective disciplines and highlighting differences, as well as similarities, with particular reference to the role of information as well as meaning in IR. This contributes to an understanding of two of the central concepts in IR, meaning and information, and the ways in which they are related. There is a history of work in IR and information science (IS) examining dilemmas and the paper builds on this work by relating it to some similar dilemmas in philosophy. Thus it develops the theory and conceptual understanding of IR by suggesting that philosophy could be used as a way of exploring intractable dilemmas in IR.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the information needs of one user group, public library fiction readers, in order to reveal a design of an online community at the local level. Examination of user‐generated metadata can reveal new approaches to information architecture.

A literature review into behaviors of virtual communities; surveying public library readers regarding search behavior characteristics – the survey included a sample “tagging” exercise to determine whether public library communities could create meaningful metadata for retrieval purposes.

The use of relevance as an indicator of tag quality is flawed: in a survey, public library readers “tagged” the novel The Da Vinci Code. The resulting collection of tags provided a richer description of the book than did the social book‐related web site www.librarything.com. Tag collections can be broken down into different categories, each reflecting a different “facet” of the novel: character, plot, subject/topic, setting, and genre. Faceted structure to tags enables users to choose the context of the tag to the novel.

This research is relevant in the world of social networking sites, online communities, or any other such system where users generate descriptive metadata. Examination of such metadata can reveal facets, which can guide the architect/librarian in the design of a versatile architecture.

This research resulted in a manifold design for a public‐library‐based online community that allowed for the full expression of users' information needs. This research introduces a faceted structure to current approaches for user‐generated metadata, adding versatility to search terms.

This paper presents a set of basic components which constitutes the experimental setting intended for the evaluation of interactive information retrieval (IIR) systems, the aim of which is to facilitate evaluation of IIR systems in a way which is as close as possible to realistic IR processes. The experimental setting consists of three components: (1) the involvement of potential users as test persons; (2) the application of dynamic and individual information needs; and (3) the use of multidimensional and dynamic relevance judgements. Hidden under the information need component is the essential central sub‐component, the simulated work task situation, the tool that triggers the (simulated) dynamic information needs. This paper also reports on the empirical findings of the metaevaluation of the application of this sub‐component, the purpose of which is to discover whether the application of simulated work task situations to future evaluation of IIR systems can be recommended. Investigations are carried out to determine whether any search behavioural differences exist between test persons‘ treatment of their own real information needs versus simulated information needs. The hypothesis is that if no difference exists one can correctly substitute real information needs with simulated information needs through the application of simulated work task situations. The empirical results of the meta‐evaluation provide positive evidence for the application of simulated work task situations to the evaluation of IIR systems. The results also indicate that tailoring work task situations to the group of test persons is important in motivating them. Furthermore, the results of the evaluation show that different versions of semantic openness of the simulated situations make no difference to the test persons’ search treatment.

This paper presents an outline of models of information seeking and other aspects of information behaviour, showing the relationship between communication and information behaviour in general with information seeking and information searching in information retrieval systems. It is suggested that these models address issues at various levels of information behaviour and that they can be related by envisaging a ‘nesting’ of models. It is also suggested that, within both information seeking research and information searching research, alternative models address similar issues in related ways and that the models are complementary rather than conflicting. Finally, an alternative, problem‐solving model is presented, which, it is suggested, provides a basis for relating the models in appropriate research strategies.

This paper discusses the impact of three selected command language facilities on the man—system interface in relation to operational online information retrieval (IR). The concept of data and information is briefly considered in relation to the cognitive viewpoint and Brookes ‘fundamental equation of information science.’ A cognitive IR model is out‐lined, followed by a discussion of variously experienced searchers' knowledge structures. Recently developed online search facilities such as use of positional operators (free text operations), crossfile searching and term frequency analysis (zooming—as the ES A‐Quest command language calls it) are discussed in relation to the IR process. The cognitive view is applied as the means to describe and emphasise the retrieval possibilities and the state of knowledge involved in the interface processes.

This paper seeks to draw on the linguistic model of narrative recursion developed by Ochs and Capps and on data collected and analysed in previous research projects conducted by Shenton in order to synthesise a new framework that represents the information behaviour of children and young people.

The model of narrative recursion provides the basis of the framework proposed. However, additional, LIS‐specific details have been introduced to ensure that the reworked version represents the phenomenon of information behaviour pertaining to the young as appropriately as possible.

The individual elements within the Ochs and Capps model correspond closely to three phases typically associated with information behaviour – the emergence of an information need, information‐seeking action, and information use.

No claim is made that the model delineates all instances of information behaviour. It ignores cases where information is acquired incidentally, where no clear goal is involved in the activity and where no enhancement of the knowledge state results, even though information has been accessed.

The model is sufficiently simple to be employed in information literacy sessions with secondary school pupils. It could also be extended to provide an instructional tool and is useful in highlighting various points in youngsters' information‐related action where intermediaries may help.

Although the adoption of ideas and frameworks from other disciplines with the aim of increasing understanding of LIS phenomena is a growing trend, the paper forms one of the first attempts to apply to information behaviour an existing model associated with linguistics.

Throughout its history, information retrieval has struggled to handle contradictory needs of system oriented and user‐oriented research. Information retrieval has gradually, starting in the 1960s, moved toward handling the needs of the user. This paper aims to consider the way boundaries toward the user and user‐oriented perspectives are drawn, renegotiated and re‐drawn.

The central concept of relevance is seen as a boundary concept, complex and flexible, that is continuously redefined in order to manage boundaries. Five influential research papers from the 1960s and early 1970s are analysed in order to understand usage of the concept during a period when psychological and cognitive research tools began to be discussed as a possibility.

Relevance does not only carry an explanatory function, but also serves a purpose relating to the identity of the field. Key contributions on research on relevance seems to, as a by‐product, draw a boundary giving legitimacy to certain theoretical resources while demarcating against others. The strategies that are identified in the key texts are intent on finding, representing, justifying and strengthening a boundary that includes and excludes a reasonable amount of complexity associated with the user.

The paper explores a central concept within information retrieval and information science in a new way. It also supplies a fresh perspective on the development of information retrieval during the 1960s and 1970s.