Interface issues and interaction strategies for information retrieval systems

The need for effective information retrieval systems becomes increasingly important as computer-based information repositories grow larger and more diverse. In this tutorial, we will present the key issues involved in the use and design of effective interfaces to information retrieval systems. The process of satisfying information needs is analyzed as a problem solving activity in which users learn and refine their needs as they interact with a repository. Current systems are analyzed in terms of key interface and interaction techniques such as querying, browsing, and relevance feedback, We will discuss the impact of information seeking strategies on the search process and what is needed to more effectively support the search process. Retrieval system evaluation techniques will be discussed in terms of their implications for users. We close by outlining some user-centered design strategies for retrieval systems. INFORMATION RETRIEVAL AS A PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS The field of information retrieval can be divided along the lines of its system-based and user-based concerns. While the system-based view is concerned with efficient search techniques to match query and document representations, the user-based view must account for the cognitive state of the searcher and the problem solving context. People are drawn to an information retrieval system because they perceive that they lack some knowledge to solve a problem or perform a task. This creates an “anomalous state of knowledge” [1] or “situation of irresolution” [6] in which information seekers must find something they know little or nothing about. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of ACM. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. CHI’ Companion 95, Denver, Colorado, USA Q 1995 ACM 0-89791 -755-3/95/0005... $3.50 Nick Belkin Rutgers University The School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1071 USA nick@ belkin.rutgers .edu Information retrieval systems must not only provide efficient retrieval, but must also support the user in describing a problem that they do not understand well. The process is not only one of providing a good query language, but also supporting an iterative dialogue model. As users query and browse the repository, they learn more about the problem and potential solutions and therefore refine their conceptualization of the problem, The information being sought differs from that being sought at the beginning of the session. The user is engaged in a problem solving session in which the problem to be solved, that of finding relevant information, evolves and is refined through the process of seeing the results of intermediate queries. THE VOCABULARY PROBLEM Even in cases where the information is well-known, a vocabulary problem still exists. Users may know what they are looking for, but lack the knowledge needed to articulate the problem in terms and abstractions used by the retrieval system. An inherent problem is that people use a surprisingly diverse set of terms to refer to the same object, such that the probability for choosing the same term for a familiar object is less than 15 percent [3]. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that information repositories are often indexed by experts and by the inherent properties of the objects. Expert indexing causes problems because less knowledgeable users, who define the majority of people experiencing an anomalous state of knowledge, are less likely understand the terminology used by experts. Indexing by inherent properties causes problems because most information seeking is engaged in some problem solving context. People are looking for information that is used for something and are therefor more concerned with how an object is used, not its inherent properties [4]. INTERFACES FOR RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS Current information retrieval systems have addressed these inherent properties of information seeking and indexing in a variety of ways. Browsing has been employed to facilitate the iterative and ill-defined nature of information seeking, but can lead a loss of direction and overly narrow