User-Oriented IR Models

571- Information Access and Retrieval

System-oriented vs. User-oriented

• System-oriented approaches– information retrieval as a match between a

request or a query and a set of documents – Artificial intelligence.

• User-oriented approaches– shift from document representation to the

representation of the cognitive and social structure of users

Fundamental Models—related to Information Need

• Taylor’s levels of need (discussed last week)

• Belkin’s ASK hypothesis

• Dervin’s sense-making approach

Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK) hypothesis

• Information seeking process begins with a problem• Users cannot solve the problem by applying existing

knowledge• Users’ anomalous state creates cognitive uncertainty

that prohibits them from adequately expressing their information needs.

• Need additional information to clarify users’ thoughts. • The driving force of information retrieval is the users’

problem that leads to recognition of their inadequate knowledge to specify their information need.

GENERATOR’SIMAGE OF THE WORLD

USER’SIMAGE OFTHE WORLD

TEXTREQUEST

CONCEPTUAL STATEOF KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION

ANOMALOUS STATEOF KNOWLEDGE

CONCEPTUAL STATEOF KNOWLEDGE

belief, intent, knowledge of usertransformations

realization of need

Linguistic,pragmatictransformations

Belkin’s cognitive communication system for information retrieval

– Explores the use of information in every day problems.

– Assumes that life entails making sense of one’s environment and experiences;

– Ever so often, you encounter unanticipated situations

situation-gap-use• which don’t make “sense” within the scope of our

knowledge/experience base

– Therefore, can best define, categorize or interpret them based on knowledge of the problem situation

Sense-making Approach

– Assumes that life entails making sense of one’s environment and experiences

– Ever so often, people encounters unanticipated situations which don’t make “sense” within the scope of their knowledge/experience base

– People attempts to “make sense” by formulating a question

The Constructivist view - sense-making approach

SITUATION

GAP USE (HELP)

CIRCLING

THE EXPERIENCE

Information Seeking Models

• Ellis’ Model of Information-seeking Behavior

• Bates’ Berrypicking Approach

• Kuhlthau’s information search process

• Wilson’s model of information behavior

Ellis’ Model of Information-seeking Behavior

• Starting– the initial work on a new topic or area.

• Chaining – following citation connections between materials.– backward chaining and forward chaining are the two

frequently occurring chaining types.• Browsing

– glancing through an area with potential interest– one form of semi-directed or structured searching.

• Differentiating – identifying differences among sources to filter the

materials examined

Ellis’ Model of Information-seeking Behavior

• Monitoring – keeping up with the developments of a field of study

by checking specific information sources.• Extracting

– identifying relevant material based on going through a particular source.

• Verifying– checking the accuracy of information

• Ending– conducting a final search to complete the process

Bates’ Berrypicking Approach

• Searchers’ search queries evolve in the information-seeking process.

• Searchers seek information piece by piece rather than in one retrieved set.

• Searchers apply multiple search techniques in the search process.

• Searchers access different sources in addition to bibliographic databases.

Kuhlthau’s information search process

• Information use as process, rather than single acts/products

• task initiation; • topic selection; • prefocus exploration; • focus formation; • information collection; • search closure/presentation

Kuhlthau, C.C. A process approach to library and information services, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1994.

Kuhlthau’s ISP Stages

Stages in ISP Feelings common to each stage

Thoughts common to each stage

Actions common to each stage

Appropriate task according to Kuhlthau model

1. Initiation Uncertainty General/vague Seeking background information

Recognize

2. Selection Optimism Identify 3. Exploration Confusion/

frustration/ doubt

Seeking relevant information

Investigate

4. Formulation Clarity Narrowed/ clearer

Formulate

5. Collection Sense of direction/ confidence

Increased interest

Seeking relevant or focused information

Gather

6. Presentation Relief/ satisfaction or disappointment

Clearer or focused

Complete

Wilson’s model of information behavior

• Incorporates theoretical modes of behaviors, such as stress/coping theory, risk/reward theory, and social learning theory,

• Enlighten the relationships between needs and information-seeking behavior, information resource usage, and self-efficacy

• Identifies several modes of search, e.g. passive search, active search, ongoing search, etc.

• Relate to other information-seeking models. The models of Ellis and Kuhlthau are the expansion and illustration of the active search mode of information-seeking behavior

Context of informationneed

Person-in-context

Interveningvariables

Activatingmechanism

Risk/rewardtheory

Activatingmechanism

Stress/copingtheory

Psychological

InformationProcessing

and use

Demographic

Role-related orinterpersonal

Environmental

Sourcecharacteristics

Information-seeking

behaviour

Social learningTheory

Self-efficacy

Passiveattention

Passive search

Ongoing search

Active searchsearch

Wilson’s model of information behavior

Interactive IR models

• Ingwersen’s Cognitive Model

• Belkin’s Episode model

• Saracevic’s stratified model

• Xie’s planned-situational model

Ingwersen’s Cognitive Model

• Originating from Ingwersen’s (1992) description of the processes of IR interaction– positions the searcher— influenced by his/her social or

organizational environment—at the center of the interaction,

• Ingwersen and Järvelin (2005, p.261) proposed an integrated IS&R research framework with the model of interactive information-seeking, retrieval and behavioral processes. – a generalized model that considers cognitive actor(s) or teams

derived from their organizational, cultural, and social context as the central component of the model

Complex Cognitive framework of longitudinal interactive IS&R (Turn, p. 274, Fig. 6.8)

IT Retrieval Engines

Database architectureIndexing algorithms

Computational Logics‹- Models-›

InformationObjects

Knowledge representationThesaural nets

Full contents/structures…‹- Models-›

InterfaceFunctions‹- Models-›

Information seeker´s

Cognitive SpaceWork task/interest perceptionCognitive & emotional state

‹- Models-›Problem situation / Goal

UncertaintySearch task/Information need

Information behaviourRelevance & use as-

sessments

Org.

Cultural

RQuery

R = Request / Relevance feedback

StrategiesPreferencesInterests

DomainsGoalsWork task situations

Cognitive transformation and influence over time Longitudinal interaction of cognitive structures

Modification

5

7

6

8

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2Social Context‹- Models-›

Cognitive Actor(s)• As a central component of the model, cognitive actor(s) or teams can be

represented by the following human groups in the information creation, organization, dissemination, and use process:

– Creators of information objects;– Indexers analyzing and generating representations of information objects to

facilitate retrieval of information objects;– Designers of interface and software to facilitate users’ interaction with systems;– Designers of retrieval engines, structures, and algorithms to facilitate users’

effective retrieval of relevant information;– Gatekeepers determining the availability of information objects into a collection or

a carrier;– Information-seekers or searchers looking for information to solve their problems;

and– Communities representing different groups from different organizational, social,

and cultural contexts.

Models of information needs/use-- Nick Belkin’s Episode Model

• interaction– representation– comparison– summarization– navigation– visualization

• factors– user’s goals,

intentions – knowledge– problem at that

time– the nature of the

information objects being interacted with

Belkin’s Episode Model

Models of information needs/use-- the stratified interaction model

• Tefko Saracevic’s stratified interaction model – surface level– cognitive level– situational level

Saracevic’s Stratified model

Figure 1. Elements in the stratified model of IR interaction

Situational

tasks ...

Affective

intent ...

Querycharacteristics

INTERFACE

Engineeringhardware, capacities

software, algorithms ...

Cognitive knowledge structure ...

Surface level

Processing

Contentinf. resources - textsrepresentations ...

Cognitive View: Planned Model

• Views information seeking as continuous and interrelated actions.

• Attempts to understand information seeking in relation to general plans and goals.

Newell, A. & Simon, A. (1972). Human Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Social Science View --Theory of Situated Action

• Assumes that the coherence of action is not adequately explained by either preconceived cognitive schema or institutionalized social norms.

• Information seeking is an emergent property of moment-by-moment interactions between users and environments they interact with.

Suchman, L.A. (1987). Plans and Situated Actions: The problems of human-machine communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Planned-situational Model • People engage in multiple types of information seeking and

retrieving strategies in order to find useful information.– Identifying, learning, exploring, creating, modifying, monitoring, keeping

records, accessing, organizing, evaluating, obtaining and disseminating.

• People have to shift their information seeking and retrieving strategies under different situations in their information seeking and retrieving process– Routine situation

• Planned shifts– Disruptive situation

• Opportunistic shifts– Problematic situation

• Assisted shifts• Alternative shifts

Planned-situational Model

• Planned and situational factors determine the selection of and shifts in information seeking strategies – Planned aspects

• Levels of user goals/tasks• Dimensions of user work and search tasks• User personal information infrastructure

– Situational aspects• Outcomes of user-system interactions• Information objects users interact with• IR system design• Social-organizational context

Xie, H. (2008) Interactive Information Retrieval in Digital Environments. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Planned-situational Model

Levels of goals and tasks

Levels of goals

Long term goal

Leading search goal

Current search goal

Levels of tasks

Goal for task

Work task

Search task

Plan•What to do first?

•How to achieve goals/tasks?

•When to stop?

Information seeking strategies(ISS)

Interactive intentions

•Types of intentions

•Types of entities

•Types of attributes

Retrieval tactics

•Types of methods

•Types of tactics

•Types of attributes

Situation

Personal informationInfrastructure

•Domain knowledge

•System knowledge

•Information retrieval knowledge

•Cognitive style

Interface

Informationobject

IR system

Social-organizational Context

•Work domain

•Actors

•Interaction activities

routine

problem

atic

disrupted

Computationalmechanism

Contributions of user-oriented IR models

• Providing theoretical frameworks for research on information-seeking and retrieval.

• Extend to specific issues in the information-seeking and retrieval process.

• Applied to both theoretical research and empirical research.

Limitations of user-oriented IR models

• There are no large-scale empirical studies that have tested or validated these models.

• A related issue is how these IR models account for key specific issues in IR.

• Their impact on practical implications, especially the design of interactive IR systems, is not as significant as their theoretical implications