This article focuses on the relevance judgments made by health information users who use the Web. Health information users were conceptualized as motivated information users concerned about how an environmental issue affects their health. Users identified their own environmental health interests and conducted a Web search of a particular environmental health Web site. Users were asked to identify (by highlighting with a mouse) the criteria they use to assess relevance in both Web search engine surrogates and full-text Web documents. Content analysis of document criteria highlighted by users identified the criteria these users relied on most often. Key criteria identified included (in order of frequency of appearance) research, topic, scope, data, influence, affiliation, Web characteristics, and authority/ person. A power-law distribution of criteria was observed (a few criteria represented most of the highlighted regions, with a long tail of occasionally used criteria). Implications of this work are that information retrieval (IR) systems should be tailored in terms of users' tendencies to rely on certain document criteria, and that relevance research should combine methods to gather richer, contextualized data. Metadata for IR systems, such as that used in search engine surrogates, could be improved by taking into account actual usage of relevance criteria. Such metadata should be user-centered (based on data from users, as in this study) and contextappropriate (fit to users' situations and tasks).

This paper reports on the automatic metadata generation applications (AMeGA) project's metadata expert survey. Automatic metadata generation research is reviewed and the study's methods, key findings and conclusions are presented. Participants anticipate greater accuracy with automatic techniques for technical metadata (e.g., ID, language, and format metadata) compared to metadata requiring intellectual discretion (e.g., subject and description metadata). Support for implementing automatic techniques paralleled anticipated accuracy results. Metadata experts are in favour of using automatic techniques, although they are generally not in favour of eliminating human evaluation or production for the more intellectually demanding metadata. Results are incorporated into Version 1.0 of the Recommended Functionalities for automatic metadata generation applications (Appendix A).

This article analyzes resource authors' use of a metadata creation application at the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Users' behavior was observed as they created metadata, and feedback about the application was solicited.Data analysis focused on usability-specifically task structure, duration, user perceptions and researcher observations. Developing a conceptual understanding of metadata and its use in retrieval was challenging for users. The study identifies particular interface elements (e.g., input fields) as well as element semantics and syntax that impact application usability and metadata creation. Implications for information architecture and interface design include the need to incorporate metadata into user-centered design processes and develop advanced applications that reduce the burden on authors.

The Memex Metadata for Student Portfolios (M 2 ) project is using mobile technology to augment student memory and improve student learning. We have constructed a student-targeted Context Awareness Framework (CAF) and we are developing a metadata scheme that integrates the CAF with a variety of mobile technologies. In particular, we are exploring the use of Microsoft SenseCams, which capture images and sensory data approximately every 90 seconds and can extend student memory, enabling for an enriched learning experience for undergraduate biology students.We are exploring the use of SenseCams along with other mobile devices (e.g., a GIS and Tablet PC) for biology students conducting scientific field work such as specimen identification. The development of our CAF and metadata scheme also support the development of e-portfolios that can extend student memory and maintain useful records of educational activities. This paper presents research and development activities underlying the M 2 project, including research methods, evaluation activities, and next steps.

The rapid growth of the Web has increased the importance of decentralized metadata creation. Resource authors must create their own metadata to enable enhanced information seeking and retrieval, and they need effective interfaces to support their work. This paper reports a baseline study of author interactions with a metadata system and draws implications for the design of future interfaces.