Why did you pick that? Visualising relevance criteria in exploratory search

In this article, we present a set of approaches in analysing data gathered during experimentation with exploratory search systems and users’ acts of judging the relevance of the information retrieved by the system. We present three tools for quantitatively analysing encoded qualitative data: relevance-criteria profile, relevance-judgement complexity and session visualisation. Relevance-criteria profiles capture the prominence of each criterion usage with respect to the search sessions of individuals or selected user groups (e.g. groups defined by the users affiliations and/or level of research experience). Relevance-judgement complexity, on the other hand, reflects the number of criteria involved in a single judgment process. Finally, session visualisation brings these results together in a sequential representation of criteria usage and relevance judgements throughout a session, potentially allowing the researcher to quickly detect emerging patterns with respect to interactions, relevance criteria usage and complexity. The use of these tools is demonstrated using results from a pilot-user study that was conducted at the Robert Gordon University in 2008. We conclude by highlighting how these tools might be used to support the improvement of end-user services in digital libraries.