Browsing and searching in a faceted information space: A naturalistic study of PubMed users' interaction with a display tool

Abstract

The study adopts a naturalistic approach to investigate users' interaction with a browsable MeSH (medical subject headings) display designed to facilitate query construction for the PubMed bibliographic database. The purpose of the study is twofold: first, to test the usefulness of a browsable interface utilizing the principle of faceted classification; and second, to investigate users' preferred query submission methods in different problematic situations.An interface that incorporated multiple query submission methods-the conventional single-line query box as well as methods associated the faceted classification display was constructed. Participants' interactions with the interface were monitored remotely over a period of 10 weeks; information about their problematic situations and information retrieval behaviors were also collected during this time. The traditional controlled experiment was not adequate in answering the author's research questions; hence, the author provides his rationale for a naturalistic approach.The study's findings show that there is indeed a selective compatibility between query submission methods provided by the MeSH display and users' problematic situations. The query submission methods associated with the display were found to be the preferred search tools when users' information needs were vague and the search topics unfamiliar.The findings support the theoretical proposition that users engaging in an information retrieval process with a variety of problematic situations need different approaches. The author argues that rather than treat the information retrieval system as a general purpose tool, more attention should be given to the interaction between the functionality of the tool and the characteristics of users' problematic situations.

Seeking Health Information Online: The Moderating Effects of Problematic Situations on User Intention

“…Due to the complexity of information search behavior, there are many factors that can influence people's information search behavior. Along with the study of people's cognitive abilities and individual differences in search behavior, the effects of user situation or context should not be ignored (Li & Hu, 2012 behavior can be mainly classified into two categories: (1) considering the particular situation as the research background, research is conducted to find how users search for information in that situation; (2) considering the situation as the research variable, studies are carried out to find the effects of situational factors on user information behavior ( Tang, 2007).…”

Beyond text querying and ranking list: How people are searching through faceted catalogs in two library environments

“…That's the reason why library's interest in faceted navigation resumed with vigor. Besides library catalogs, some faceted interfaces have been built on top of specific bibliographic databases, like PubMed (Tang, 2005).…”

The Faceted Catalog as a Tool for Searching Monographic Series: Usability Study of Lens

“…An article, "Browsing and Searching in a Faceted Information Space," by M.-C. Tang 13 tested the usefulness of a browsable interface utilizing the functionality of faceted classification of MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) in the PubMed database. A usability study conducted at the North Carolina State University 14 analyzed how three facets-Subject, Region, and Time Period-were utilized in a scholarly search.…”