Examining the impact of domain and cognitive complexity on query formulation and reformulation

Wildemuth, Barbara M.; Kelly, Diane; Boettcher, Emma; Moore, E. N.; Dimitrova, Gergana

doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2018.01.009

Cited by 28 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It has long been accepted that the nature of a search task is an important factor that may impact information seekers' search behaviors, such as source selections. Previous work has explored the influence of many different task characteristics, such as task complexity, urgency of the task, and domain of the task (Chi, Han, He, & Meng, 2016; Kelly, Arguello, Edwards, & Wu, 2015; Wildemuth, Kelly, Boettcher, Moore, & Dimitrova, 2018).…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laypeople's source selection in online health information‐seeking process

Chi

Jeng

2020

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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For laypeople, searching online health information resources can be challenging due to topic complexity and the large number of online sources with differing quality. The goal of this article is to examine, among all the available online sources, which online sources laypeople select to address their health‐related information needs, and whether or how much the severity of a health condition influences their selection. Twenty‐four participants were recruited individually, and each was asked (using a retrieval system called HIS) to search for information regarding a severe health condition and a mild health condition, respectively. The selected online health information sources were automatically captured by the HIS system and classified at both the website and webpage levels. Participants' selection behavior patterns were then plotted across the whole information‐seeking process. Our results demonstrate that laypeople's source selection fluctuates during the health information‐seeking process, and also varies by the severity of health conditions. This study reveals laypeople's real usage of different types of online health information sources, and engenders implications to the design of search engines, as well as the development of health literacy programs.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laypeople's source selection in online health information‐seeking process

Chi

Jeng

2020

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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“…When a user interacts with an information retrieval system, they usually formulate initial queries and reformulate these queries during the course of a search (Wildemuth et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaborative query reformulation in tourism information search

Arif

Hansen

2019

OIR

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Purpose Collaborative information search (CIS) is a growing and significant research area. Query formulation and reformulation is an important search strategy in information search. However, limited research has investigated query behavior during CIS. The purpose of this paper is to characterize collaborative query reformulation (CQR) by exploring the sources of collaborative query (CQ) terms and the types and patterns of CQR in the context of tourism information search. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study was designed to investigate search query reformulation as tourists performed CIS on a devised interface. A total of 36 participants (in 18 pairs) took part in the study; data were documented in pre- and post-search questionnaires, search logs and chat logs. Findings The findings show that participants intermixed individual search and collaborative search during CIS. Participants constructed CQ terms mainly by selecting terms from individual search queries and discussion chat logs. Eight types of CQR were identified, with specialization (82 percent) accounting for the most used search tactics. At most times, participants were found to add terms to the previous query. Findings demonstrated 27 specific CQR patterns; in excess of two-third participants (69 percent) took only one move to reformulate CQ by adding terms, or replacing/using new words. Practical implications The results of this research can be used to inform the design of search systems supporting collaborative querying in CIS. Originality/value This study is highlighting an important research direction of CQ reformulation in collaborative search while previous studies of the topic are limited, comparing to the vast body of work on query reformulation in individual information search using regular search systems.

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“…To illustrate, most of the studies above [2,8,15,21,23] have used tasks developed by Kelly et al [15], which vary across four topical domains and five cognitive process levels from A&K's taxonomy. 1 The 20 tasks from Kelly et al [15] have a notable trend-they tend to fall along the diagonal of A&K's taxonomy.…”

Section: Discussion and Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Building on these task definitions, studies have found that cognitively complex tasks are perceived to be more difficult and impact search behaviors [2,8,[13][14][15]23]. Specifically, cognitively complex tasks are associated with more search activity [2,8,[13][14][15]23], more trial-and-error (e.g., more abandoned queries) [15], greater use of search assistance tools [8], greater diversity of query-reformulation types [21], and greater divergence in search strategies adopted by different users for the same task [15].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anderson and Krathwohl's Two-Dimensional Taxonomy Applied to Task Creation and Learning Assessment

Urgo

Arguello

Capra

2019

Proceedings of the 2019 ACM SIGIR International Conference on Theory of Information Retrieval

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Search tasks play an important role in the study and development of interactive information retrieval (IIR) systems. Prior work has examined how search tasks vary along dimensions such as the task's main activity, end goal, structure, and complexity. Recently, researchers have been exploring task complexity from the perspective of cognitive complexity-related to the types (and variety) of mental activities required by the task. Anderson & Krathwohl's two-dimensional taxonomy of learning has been a commonly used framework for investigating tasks from the perspective of cognitive complexity [1]. A&K's 2D taxonomy involves a cognitive process dimension and an orthogonal knowledge dimension. Prior IIR research has successfully leveraged the cognitive process dimension of this 2D taxonomy to develop search tasks and investigate their effects on searchers' needs, perceptions, and behaviors. However, the knowledge dimension of the taxonomy has been largely ignored. In this conceptual paper, we argue that future IIR research should consider both dimensions of A&K's taxonomy. Specifically, we discuss related work, present details on both dimensions of A&K's taxonomy, and explain how to use the taxonomy to develop search tasks and learning assessment materials. Additionally, we discuss how considering both dimensions of A&K's taxonomy has important implications for future IIR research.

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Examining the impact of domain and cognitive complexity on query formulation and reformulation

Cited by 28 publications

References 29 publications

Laypeople's source selection in online health information‐seeking process

Laypeople's source selection in online health information‐seeking process

Collaborative query reformulation in tourism information search

Anderson and Krathwohl's Two-Dimensional Taxonomy Applied to Task Creation and Learning Assessment

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