Search

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of social search as a new concept, drawing upon the patterns of web search behaviour. It aims to: define social search; present a taxonomy of social search; and propose a user-centred social search method. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach was adopted to investigate and conceptualise the notion of social search. A review of literature on social search was carried out to identify the key trends and topics. A model of online collaboration was adopted to delineate the types and categories of social search. Four use case scenarios were developed to provide a more pragmatic approach to the understanding of social search. Findings: The developed taxonomy of social search reveals important similarities and differences between many social search systems. This analysis reveals a gap in social search approaches. A practical method was identified that allows users to directly leverage social search without special features built into search engines. Research limitations/implications: For feasibility reasons, Google was used as an example of a search system that can be used for carrying out social searches. Practical implications: The paper provides several practical implications for web searchers as well as web designers. In particular, some recommendations are provided for the design of search engines, digital libraries and browser add-ons. Social implications: The study demonstrates the value and power of "collective intelligence" in web search. It shows how general web searches can be enhanced through using socially enhanced web-based tools such as social bookmarking systems, social tagging services and social media sites. Originality/value: This is the first study that provides a granular analysis of the notion of social search and puts forward a taxonomy of social search. The use cases developed and reported are created based on real search topics, and show the value and validity of the approach taken. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

Provides an overview of recent developments relating to the application of thesauri in information organization and retrieval on the World Wide Web. Discusses recent thesaurus projects; types of thesauri on the Web; thesauri integrated within databases and information retrieval systems; multiple thesaurus systems; standards for electronic thesauri; and future concerns. (Author/LRW)

This article reports on an investigation of temporal patterns of searching within the Edmonton Public Library discovery system to identify the temporal trends and aspects of public searching. The specific objective of this study was to examine the temporal patterns of public searching on weekdays and weekends in the months of summer and fall. The findings show that there are hourly, daily, weekday, and weekend patterns associated with the public searching of a discovery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilingual thesauri provide the context for exploring experimental user interfaces that support interactive visualization. The authors created two search interfaces that draw on the semantic richness of bilingual thesauri and provide for search, browse and results display. The Searchling interface offers search, browsable navigation and the full termrecord data for a selected term, as well as a simple switch between language views. It provides active user assistance by displaying options to broaden or narrow search. User evaluation showed Searchling to be easy to use, appealing broadly but especially to linear thinkers. The T-Saurus interface is more visual, with term search results represented by the size, number, proximity and opacity of buckets. Terms can be displayed in multiple languages simultaneously, and multiple terms can be chosen to form a query to retrieve documents. Visual thinkers appreciated its dynamic and interactive visualization interface. Studies demonstrate the support both interfaces provide for fully using rich, multilingual thesauri as well as differences for users with different cognitive styles [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported here investigated the search behaviour patterns of nanoscience and nanotechnology searchers as revealed by transaction log analysis of the NANOnetBASE electronic book digital library. This paper examines the patterns and strategies of nano searchers' query formulation and reformulation, then explores the extent of interdisciplinarity in search queries using the INSPEC and Compendex thesauri. The results show certain query formulation patterns associated with searching in an emerging and interdisciplinary area of nanotechnology such as: the use of multiword and compound query terms, extensive use of search terms beginning with the prefix "nano," hyphenated terms, spelling variations, a large number of query reformulations, and the use of acronyms. The results also indicate that 62% of the unique top terms resulting from mapping users' query terms to the INSPEC Classification codes represented two or more disciplines, specifically terms associated with the Classification code "A" representing "physics." The results have implications for information organization and representation, user interface design and federated searching in digital libraries and multi-subject databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of social search as a new concept, drawing upon the patterns of web search behaviour. It aims to: define social search; present a taxonomy of social search; and propose a user-centred social search method. Design/methodology/approach - A mixed method approach was adopted to investigate and conceptualise the notion of social search. A review of literature on social search was carried out to identify the key trends and topics. A model of online collaboration was adopted to delineate the types and categories of social search. Four use case scenarios were developed to provide a more pragmatic approach to the understanding of social search. Findings - The developed taxonomy of social search reveals important similarities and differences between many social search systems. This analysis reveals a gap in social search approaches. A practical method was identified that allows users to directly leverage social search without special features built into search engines. Research limitations/implications - For feasibility reasons, Google was used as an example of a search system that can be used for carrying out social searches. Practical implications - The paper provides several practical implications for web searchers as well as web designers. In particular, some recommendations are provided for the design of search engines, digital libraries and browser add-ons. Social implications - The study demonstrates the value and power of "collective intelligence" in web search. It shows how general web searches can be enhanced through using socially enhanced web-based tools such as social bookmarking systems, social tagging services and social media sites. Originality/value - This is the first study that provides a granular analysis of the notion of social search and puts forward a taxonomy of social search. The use cases developed and reported are created based on real search topics, and show the value and validity of the approach taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine and provide an insight into Canadian post-secondary institutional repositories (IRs) with respect to user interface features and knowledge organization systems (KOS) used. Design/methodology/approach - The approach is to explore all Canadian post-secondary institutions and their user interfaces to establish the type of searching and browsing features they have used and whether or not they have made use of KOS such as subject heading lists or classification schemes. Findings - A directory of 27 IRs in Canada is created. Incorporation of KOS in institutional repository is evaluated. The examination is focuses on accessibility, searching, KOS use, and retrieval. Evaluation shows that few IRs have incorporated complex KOS such as controlled vocabularies. Browsing and searching options are available, but user interfaces are usually not modified to enhance information retrieval. Originality/value - This is the first paper examining Canadian IRs from the perspectives of searching, browsing and the use of KOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information visualization offers a variety of ways in which digital library collections can be represented on the interface and shown to the user. Metadata, a key component of solid digital libraries, has been utilized to enhance visual user interfaces to digital libraries. This paper reports on a study conducted to investigate and analyze a specific category of digital library visual interface that supports information seeking, exploration and retrieval based on metadata representations, namely metadata-enhanced visual interfaces. This study examined 21 metadata-enhanced digital library visual interfaces from the following perspectives: (a) information access and retrieval features; (b) metadata elements; (c) visualization techniques and metaphors. The results demonstrated that the combined use of visualization techniques and metaphors is becoming increasingly prevalent as a design strategy to support users' information exploration. The results also suggest that visual interfaces enhanced with metadata are becoming more widespread to provide a richer representation of digital collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of DDC in the ongoing HILT (High-level Thesaurus) project is discussed. A phased initiative, funded by JISC in the UK, HILT addresses an issue of likely interest to anyone serving users wishing to cross-search or cross-browse groups of networked information services, whether at regional, national, or international level--the problem of subject-based retrieval from multiple sources using different subject schemes for resource description. Although all three phases of HILT to date are covered, the primary concern is with the subject interoperability solution piloted in phase II, and with the use of DDC as a spine in that approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to report an investigation into the ways in which end-users perceive a thesaurus-enhanced search interface, in particular thesaurus and search interface usability. Design/methodology/approach - Thirty academic users, split between staff and postgraduate students, carrying out real search requests were observed during this study. Users were asked to comment on a range of thesaurus and interface characteristics including: ease of use, ease of learning, ease of browsing and navigation, problems and difficulties encountered while interacting with the system, and the effect of browsing on search term selection. Findings - The results suggest that interface usability is a factor affecting thesaurus browsing/navigation and other information-searching behaviours. Academic staff viewed the function of a thesaurus as being useful for narrowing down a search and providing alternative search terms, while postgraduates stressed the role of the thesaurus for broadening searches and providing new terms. Originality/value - The paper provides an insight into the ways in which end-users make use of and interact with a thesaurus-enhanced search interface. This area is new since previous research has particularly focused on how professional searchers and librarians make use of thesauri and thesaurus-enhanced search interfaces. The research reported here suggests that end-users with varying levels of domain knowledge are able to use thesauri that are integrated into search interfaces. It also provides design implications for search interface developers as well as information professionals who are involved in teaching online searching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an evaluation of the effects of search topic characteristics on cognitive and physical search moves within the interface of a thesaurus-enhanced information retrieval environment. Topic characteristics examined here are topic complexity, topic familiarity, search type and prior topic search experience. The data gathering techniques adopted in this investigation included pre- and post-search questionnaires, transaction logs and post-session interviews. Thirty academic staff and postgraduate researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow participated in this study. Each participant conducted three searches based on their research information needs. The results show that complex topics are associated with significantly more cognitive and physical moves. However, it is perhaps equally important to note that the results indicate that variation in the other topic characteristics did not demonstrate any significant difference in the number of cognitive or physical moves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of recent developments relating to the application of thesauri in information organisation and retrieval on the World Wide Web. It describes some recent thesaurus projects undertaken to facilitate resource description and discovery and access to wide-ranging information resources on the Internet. Types of thesauri available on the Web, thesauri integrated in databases and information retrieval systems, and multiple-thesaurus systems for cross-database searching are also discussed. Collective efforts and events in addressing the standardisation and novel applications of thesauri are briefly reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]