Validation of a model of information seeking over multiple search sessions

Abstract

Most information systems share a common assumption: information seeking is discrete. Such an assumption neither reflects real-life information seeking processes nor conforms to the perspective of phenomenology, "life is a journey constituted by continuous acquisition of knowledge." Thus, this study develops and validates a theoretical model that explains successive search experience for essentially the same information problem. The proposed model is called Multiple Information Seeking Episodes (MISE), which consists of four dimensions: problematic situation, information problem, information seeking process, episodes. Eight modes of multiple information seeking episodes are identified and specified with properties of the four dimensions of MISE. The results partially validate MISE by finding that the original MISE model is highly accurate, but less sufficient in characterizing successive searches; all factors in the MISE model are empirically confirmed, but new factors are identified as well. The revised MISE model is shifted from the user-centered to the interaction-centered perspective, taking into account factors of searcher, system, search activity, search context, information attainment, and information use activities.

Identification and Analysis of Multi-tasking Product Information Search Sessions with Query Logs

“…For example, Spink, Ozmutlu, and Ozmutlu (2002) found that the length of search queries and the time costs in multitasking sessions are longer than those in mono-tasking sessions. Lin and Belkin (2005) also confirmed that the average number of search queries used in multitasking sessions is more than that in mono-tasking sessions. When Lucchese et al (2011) analyzed the search logs of 307 search sessions and 1,424 queries from American On Line (AOL), they found that the average duration of each search session was about 15 minutes.…”

The dynamics of interactive information retrieval behavior, Part I: An activity theory perspective

“…It is in line with multisession studies (Lin & Belkin, 2005;Vakkari & Hakala, 2000) and some integrated behavioral studies Vakkari et al, 2003;Xie, 2000) that open the black box of each stage and look into the interaction among activity elements driving the development of the process.…”

“…Information-seeking behavior could last for a long period with multiple search sessions or for just one session (Belkin & Vickery, 1985;Lin & Belkin, 2005). Here a search session is defined as the continuous interaction between a user and an information system without major interruption of activities for purposes irrelevant to the information-seeking task.…”

Interactive information retrieval

“…A repeated search can, therefore, be a request for the same information, for new information, or for different information-even though the search requests may appear very similar. Lin and Belkin (Lin, 2005;Lin & Belkin, 2005) demonstrate elegantly how complex is the nature of successive searching compared to the idealized one-iteration model.…”