Evaluating citation visualization and exploration methods for supporting academic search tasks

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orland Hoeber ◽  
Taraneh Khazaei
Keyword(s):  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Information Need ◽  
Or Efficiency ◽  
Search Interface ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
Interactive Interfaces ◽  
Academic Search ◽  
Bow Tie

Purpose – Conducting academic searches within online digital libraries can be a difficult task due to the complexity of the searcher’s information need. The interfaces for such digital libraries commonly use simple search features that provide limited support for the fundamental strategies that academic searchers employ. The authors have developed a novel visualisation interface called Bow Tie Academic Search to address some of these shortcomings, and present in this paper the findings from a user evaluation. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A controlled laboratory study was conducted to compare a traditional search interface to Bow Tie Academic Search. In total, 24 graduate students were recruited to perform academic searches using the two candidate interfaces, guided by specific sub-tasks that focus on citation and keyword analysis strategies. Findings – Although the use of the core visualisation and exploration features did not reveal differences in retrieval effectiveness or efficiency, the query refinement features were found to be effective. Strongly positive impressions of usefulness and ease of use of all aspects of the system were reported, along with a preference for using Bow Tie Academic Search for academic search tasks. Originality/value – This study provides insight into the potential value for providing visual and interactive interfaces for supporting academic search tasks and strategies. While the quantitative improvements over the traditional search interface were minimal, the qualitative measures illustrate the value of Bow Tie Academic Search.

Exploring digital library usage for getting information from the ELM perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianjin Zha ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Yalan Yan ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
Gang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Information Need ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Likelihood Model ◽  
Route Information

Purpose – The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) provides a general framework for understanding the basic processes underlying the effectiveness of persuasion. The purpose of this paper is to utilize the ELM to understand the basic processes underlying the effectiveness of persuasion to use digital libraries for getting information. Design/methodology/approach – The survey data collection was conducted in one comprehensive university. The partial least squares structured equation modelling was employed to verify the research model. Findings – Source credibility and reputation have positive effects on information usefulness which further significantly impacts digital library usage for getting information. The effect of information quality on information usefulness is overpowered by reputation. Information need positively moderates the effect of information quality on information usefulness and negatively moderates the effect of reputation on information usefulness. Practical implications – Digital libraries enormously influence the way how individuals gather information over the world. However, the important status of digital libraries as conventional information sources in practice invites appreciation by more and more people. The authors believe the findings of this study provide useful insights for facilitating digital libraries to be fully accessed and utilized. Originality/value – This study explores the effects of the central route (information quality) and the peripheral route (source credibility and reputation) on digital library usage for getting information by extending the ELM with information need as a motivation variable, presenting a new lens for digital library research and practice alike.

scholarly journals Representing search tasks in an information use environment: a case of English primary schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1370-1395
Author(s):  
Sophie Rutter ◽  
Elaine G. Toms ◽  
Paul David Clough
Keyword(s):  
School Children ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Information Use ◽  
Work Task ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
Search Systems

Purpose To design effective task-responsive search systems, sufficient understanding of users’ tasks must be gained and their characteristics described. Although existing multi-dimensional task schemes can be used to describe users’ search and work tasks, they do not take into account the information use environment (IUE) that contextualises the task. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach With a focus on English primary schools, in four stages a multi-dimensional task scheme was developed that distinguishes between task characteristics generic to all environments, and those that are specific to schools. In Stage 1, a provisional scheme was developed based upon the existing literature. In the next two stages, through interviews with teachers and observations of school children, the provisional scheme was populated and revised. In Stage 4, whether search tasks with the same information use can be distinguished by their characteristics was examined. Findings Ten generic characteristics were identified (nature of work task, search task originator, search task flexibility, search task doer, search task necessity, task output, search goal, stage in work task, resources and information use) and four characteristics specific to primary schools (curricular area, use in curricular area, planning and location). For the different information uses, some characteristics are more typical than others. Practical implications The resulting scheme, based on children’s real-life information seeking, should be used in the design and evaluation of search systems and digital libraries that support school children. More generally, the scheme can also be used in other environments. Originality/value This is the first study to develop a multi-dimensional task scheme that considers encompasses the IUE.

Understanding research students’ behavioural intention in the adoption of digital libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 295-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asad Khan ◽  
Saima Qutab
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Cognitive Responses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Cultural Validation

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of Higher Education Commission (HEC) National Digital Library among research students in different universities of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The study framework was based on technology acceptance model (TAM). A sample of Pakistani university students completed the questionnaire measuring the effects of extraneous stimuli through cognitive responses on adoption of the HEC digital library. To test the research hypotheses, multiple regression analysis was used. Findings The findings revealed that: cognitive responses predicted students’ intention of using HEC digital library; extraneous variables significantly influenced cognitive responses; system characteristics directly influenced usefulness and ease of use; interface characteristics directly influenced cognitive responses; and individual differences significantly affected the ease of use. Similarly, system quality was identified with the highest direct effect on usefulness, whereas navigation had the highest influence on easy use of the HEC digital library of Pakistan. In addition, usefulness was explored with the highest effect on intention to use the HEC digital library of Pakistan. The findings revealed that individual behaviours influence the use of digital libraries which imply that acceptance of an information system (IS) involve cognitive idiosyncrasies. Findings of the study are useful for Pakistani academic librarians to enhance adoption and usability of the HEC digital library of Pakistan. The study extended cross-cultural validation of TAM and explored how that Pakistani university students utilize HEC digital library. Research limitations/implications These findings have significant implications for librarians in developing countries, such as to evaluate usability of digital libraries from individuals’ perspective, create awareness, customize users’ interface and train students in navigational techniques. It may also facilitate librarians to improve their current levels of library assistance and emphasize the usefulness of digital libraries towards academic excellence. The findings equally suggest that individual behaviours influence the use of digital libraries because acceptance of an information system involves cognitive idiosyncrasies. This study explored all possible links between the study constructs and emphasized that findings are useful to enhance the adoption and usability of digital library in the developing countries. Originality/value This study is the first attempt that empirically assessed the adoption of digital libraries in terms of Pakistani research students. The study validated TAM in the context of Pakistani university librarianship that extended the cross-cultural validation of TAM. Furthermore, the study focused on real constructs instead of dummy variables and predicted significant effects on acceptance and rejection of digital libraries.

Time-aware query suggestion diversification for temporally ambiguous queries

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-744
Author(s):  
Xiaojuan Zhang ◽  
Xixi Jiang ◽  
Jiewen Qin
Keyword(s):  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Web Search ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Experimental Information ◽  
Query Suggestion ◽  
High Coverage ◽  
Query Log ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
Time Aware

Purpose The purpose of this study is to generate diversified results for temporally ambiguous queries and the candidate queries are ensured to have a high coverage of subtopics, which are derived from different temporal periods. Design/methodology/approach Two novel time-aware query suggestion diversification models are developed by integrating semantics and temporality information involved in queries into two state-of-the-art explicit diversification algorithms (i.e. IA-select and xQuaD), respectively, and then specifying the components on which these two models rely on. Most importantly, first explored is how to explicitly determine query subtopics for each unique query from the query log or clicked documents and then modeling the subtopics into query suggestion diversification. The discussion on how to mine temporal intent behind a query from query log is also followed. Finally, to verify the effectiveness of the proposal, experiments on a real-world query log are conducted. Findings Preliminary experiments demonstrate that the proposed method can significantly outperform the existing state-of-the-art methods in terms of producing the candidate query suggestion for temporally ambiguous queries. Originality/value This study reports the first attempt to generate query suggestions indicating diverse interested time points to the temporally ambiguous (input) queries. The research will be useful in enhancing users’ search experience through helping them to formulate accurate queries for their search tasks. In addition, the approaches investigated in the paper are general enough to be used in many domains; that is, experimental information retrieval systems, Web search engines, document archives and digital libraries.

Children use second-and third-dimensional digital library interfaces

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kochiu Wu ◽  
Hung-Chun Chen
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Search Performance ◽  
3D Navigation ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore children’s spatial cognitive abilities as they engaged in information-seeking behaviors on two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) digital interfaces. Design/methodology/approach – Children between the ages of seven and 11 were observed as they browsed either a 2D or 3D navigation interface for a children’s digital library. Data regarding their use of the overview function and depth cues were analyzed to reveal the relationships between search performance efficiency, precision, and effectiveness and the associative memory, visualization memory, and spatial visualization abilities of the user. Findings – Children spent less time using the 2D interface when compared to time spent using the 3D interface. Children exhibited better performance precision when using the 3D interface. Children applied exhaustive strategies and more varied cognitive skills across different tasks when using the 2D interface, and applied a more focussed approach when using the 3D interface. Originality/value – The cognitive abilities of children are not yet fully developed, so they require a unique user interface when browsing digital libraries. This study served the practical purpose of developing a game-like user interface for ease of use. Providing an effective overview function allows young users with less developed cognitive abilities to navigate informational cues. They can then build an effective mind map and implement efficient way-finding strategies.

A comparative analysis on digital libraries and academic search engines from the dual-route perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fenfang Cao ◽  
Jinchao Zhang ◽  
Xianjin Zha ◽  
Kunfeng Liu ◽  
Haijuan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Academic Search

Purpose Digital libraries and academic search engines have developed as two important online scholarly information sources with different features. The purpose of this study is to compare digital libraries and academic search engines from the perspective of the dual-route model. Design/methodology/approach Research hypotheses were developed. Potential participants were recruited to answer an online survey distributing at Chinese social media out of which 251 responses were deemed to be valid and used for data analysis. The paired samples t-test was used to compare the means. Findings Both information quality (central route) and source credibility (peripheral route) of digital libraries are significantly higher than those of academic search engines, while there is no significant difference between digital libraries and academic search engines in terms of affinity (peripheral route). Practical implications In the digital information society, the important status of digital libraries as conventional information sources should be spread by necessary measures. Academic search engines can act as complementary online information sources for seeking academic information rather than the substitute for digital libraries. Practitioners of digital libraries should value the complementary role of academic search engines and encourage users to use academic search engines while emphasizing the importance of digital libraries as conventional information sources. Originality/value According to the dual-route model, this study compares digital libraries and academic search engines in terms of information quality, source credibility and affinity, which the authors believe presents a new lens for digital libraries research and practice alike.

Opinion mining towards blockchain technology adoption for accessing digital library resources

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asad Ullah Khan ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Milad Taleby Ahvanooey ◽  
Wajid Rafique
Keyword(s):  
Digital Library ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Opinion Mining ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Digital Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blockchain Technology

PurposeBlockchain technology is a distributed and decentralized public digital ledger, which is employed to save dynamic transaction data and static records across several computers so that each record could not be modified retroactively without the collusion of the network and alteration of all subsequent blocks. Recently, it has become immensely popular in digital resource sharing in different research areas such as healthcare, smart cities, cryptocurrency and libraries. Since the current eLibrary systems are vulnerable to issues such as unauthorized access, plagiarism, etc., there is a lack of access control system that can efficiently address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed a conceptual model for evaluating the users' intention in the use of blockchain-based digital libraries, which can facilitate the resource organization and provide additional security to interactive processes between users. To conduct our survey, the authors devised and shared two versions, English and Chinese, among 298 participants. Moreover, 7 PhD students participated in the pre-testing of the questioner design. The authors analyzed the demographic data using the Jamovi software and SmartPLS in order to generate the path modeling.FindingsThis study revealed that blockchain technology adaption in eLibraries is essential for enhancing the quality of services, infrastructure and resources for libraries. The study’s results show that optimism, informativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and intention to use blockchain technology for accessing digital resources in libraries.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the adoption of blockchain technology in the digital library. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first empirical attempt to provide a new perspective of developing digital libraries based on security policies. This model shows the underpinning knowledge to manage digital resources, which can facilitate the design phases and enhance the management costs in eLibraries.

Improving exploratory information retrieval for neophytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Bissan Audeh ◽  
Michel Beigbeder ◽  
Christine Largeron ◽  
Diana Ramírez-Cifuentes
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Digital Libraries ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Information Need ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Learning Content ◽  
Citation Graph ◽  
Real Challenge ◽  
Access To Documents

Digital libraries have become an essential tool for researchers in all scientific domains. With almost unlimited storage capacities, current digital libraries hold a tremendous number of documents. Though some efforts have been made to facilitate access to documents relevant to a specific information need, such a task remains a real challenge for a new researcher. Indeed neophytes do not necessarily use appropriate keywords to express their information need and they might not be qualified enough to evaluate correctly the relevance of documents retrieved by the system. In this study, we suppose that to better meet the needs of neophytes, the information retrieval system in a digital library should take into consideration features other than content-based relevance. To test this hypothesis, we use machine learning methods and build new features from several metadata related to documents. More precisely, we propose to consider as features for machine learning: content-based scores, scores based on the citation graph and scores based on metadata extracted from external resources. As acquiring such features is not a trivial task, we analyze their usefulness and their capacity to detect relevant documents. Our analysis concludes that the use of these additional features improves the performance of the system for a neophyte. In fact, by adding the new features we find more documents suitable for neophytes within the results returned by the system than when using content-based features alone.

Examining the intentions of a Ghanaian technical university students to use e-library

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Okyere-Kwakye ◽  
Khalil Md Nor
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Technical University

Purpose Electronic library (E-library) is a form of computer mediated system that uses electronic media, such as Web/internet devices and distributes resources to improve on the quality of teaching and learning. Students’ use of e-library for learning is essential and as such the government has invested hugely into its subscription for several university libraries in Ghana. However, most university students feel reluctant to use the e-library resources for their studies. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine the factors that influence students’ intention to use e-library resources for their studies. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 students from one Technical University in Ghana. Structural equation modeling (SmartPLS) was used to analyze the data. Findings The study found that accessibility, attitude, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and relevance to studies have positive significant effect on students’ attitude to use e-library. In addition, self-efficacy, subjective norm and attitude have positive significant influence on students’ intention to use e-library. Research limitations/implications Although the sample frame used for this study may be unique, but the total amount of data collected was limited to providing the general representative of the Ghanaian students in one particular university. Other researchers may consider collecting data from other universities to extend the sample frame for a larger sample size of students. Practical implications Academic administrators need to organize training and workshops on how to use the e-library portal for their search and other didactic assignments. Most importantly, students should be given IT or internet tutorials as foundation for the use of the e-library portal. Social implications Universities have to provide internet access such as hotspot and network routers at the labs, classrooms and other vantage points. It is believed that with these in place, adequate access to the internet would promote students’ engagement on the e-library facility. Originality/value The study examines the factors that influence students’ intention to use e-library resources for their studies in Ghana.

An empirical investigation of tourist’s choice of service delivery options

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1892-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Kumar Kaushik ◽  
Zillur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Technology Readiness ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Delivery Options

Purpose This paper aims to offer and examine a conceptual model of tourist innovativeness toward self-service technologies (SSTs) to confirm whether tourists prefer service delivery by SSTs over employees in an offline hospitality environment. Design/methodology/approach Tourists’ perceived usefulness (PU) of SSTs and need for interaction (NI) with service employees have been taken as crucial mediating variables to examine the effects of perceived ease of use and technology readiness index personality dimensions toward SST and employee-based service adoption. Findings Findings reveal that both “NI” and “PU” play significant roles in Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM) when tourists select one of two service delivery options – SSTs and service employees. Research limitations/implications The foremost limitation of the study is its dependence on domestic tourist samples. However, such samples were chosen because tourists comprising these samples tend to use similar service delivery options more, in turn increasing their use of SSTs available in sample hotels. Practical implications The study gives a deeper understanding of TRAM with an extremely crucial mediating variable (NI) in an offline service context. It also provides useful insights to service providers and policy makers for developing new strategies and policies to enhance user experience. Social implications This study recommends the usage of numerous SSTs by tourists. Originality/value During extensive literature review carried out in this research, no study was found that proposed such an effective framework in an offline service context.

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