Graphical query specification and dynamic result previews for a digital library

Textual query languages based on Boolean logic are common amongst the search facilities of on-line information repositories. However, there is evidence to suggest that the syntactic and semantic demands of such languages lead to user errors and adversely affect the time that it takes users to form queries. Additionally, users are faced with user interfaces to these repositories which are unresponsive and uninformative, and consequently fail to support effective query refinement. We suggest that graphical query languages, particularly Venn-like diagrams, provide a natural medium for Boolean query specification which overcomes the problems of textual query languages. Also, dynamic result previews can be seamlessly integrated with graphical query specification to increase the effectiveness of query refinements. We describe VQuery, a query interface to the New Zealand Digital Library which exploits querying by Venn diagrams and integrated query result previews.

[1]  Cecilia Katzeff.  The Effect of Different Conceptual Models Upon Reasoning in a Database Query Writing Task , 1988, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[2]  Moshé M. Zloof.  Query by example , 1899 .

[3]  Christine L. Borgman,et al.  The user's mental model of an information retrieval system , 1999, SIGIR '85.

[4]  Terry A. Halpin.  Venn Diagrams and SQL Queries , 1989, Aust. Comput. J..

[5]  M. ZloofM..  Query-by-example , 1977 .

[6]  Steve Jones.  Dynamic query result previews for a digital library , 1998, DL '98.

[7]  Ian H. Witten,et al.  The New Zealand Digital Library Project , 1996, D Lib Mag..

[8]  Mark S. Staveley,et al.  A graphical user interface for Boolean query specification , 1999, International Journal on Digital Libraries.

[9]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Query previews for networked information systems: a case study with NASA environmental data , 1997, SGMD.

[10]  Christine L. Borgman.  The user's mental model of an information retrieval system: an experiment on a prototype online catalog , 1999, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[11]  A. Michard,et al.  Graphical presentation of boolean expressions in a database query language: design notes and an ergonomic evaluation , 1982 .

[12]  Morten Hertzum,et al.  Browsing and querying in online documentation: a study of user interfaces and the interaction process , 1996, TCHI.

[13]  Tim Berners-Lee,et al.  The World-Wide Web , 1994, CACM.

[14]  Christine L. Borgman,et al.  Why are online catalogs still hard to use , 1996 .

[15]  Stephen L. Burbeck,et al.  Applications programming in smalltalk-80: how to use model-view-controller (mvc) , 1987 .

[16]  Ian H. Witten,et al.  The MG retrieval system: compressing for space and speed , 1995, CACM.

[17]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Dynamic queries for visual information seeking , 1994, IEEE Software.

[18]  Maureen C. Stone,et al.  Enhanced dynamic queries via movable filters , 1995, CHI '95.

[19]  Peter Bruza,et al.  Users' models of the information space: the case for two search models , 1995, SIGIR '95.

[20]  Louis M. Gomez,et al.  No IFs, ANDs, or ORs: A Study of Database Querying , 1990, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[21]  Christopher Williamson,et al.  Dynamic queries for information exploration: an implementation and evaluation , 1992, CHI.

[22]  Anselm Spoerri,et al.  InfoCrystal: A visual tool for information retrieval , 1993, Proceedings Visualization '93.