Information School News

How can we more systematically assess whether an information retrieval system (e.g., a search engine), delivers an engaging user experience?  This is the question that has initiated a research project among PhD student, Mengdie Zhuang and her supervisors, Professor Elaine Toms , and Dr.  Gianluca Demartini . To date, search systems are evaluated using a range of isolated measures and metrics, mostly drawn from computer logfiles that contain keystrokes and mouse clicks. Some systems are assessed at the end of using the system with a questionnaire or interview.  When the system delivers a negative user experience, the system has no time to rectify its actions when the evaluation occurs at the end of using the system. This research team is looking at how one might examine the patterns of those actions so as to predict whether the user is likely to express a positive or negative assessment, combining both types of evaluations used to date.  Th...

On Wednesday 17th February Dr Elaine Toms of the Information School who will be discussing  Adapting Technology for Effective Knowledge Work: Where does/should the Human Stop and the Machine Start Dr Tom's research focuses on understanding why information systems fail users and designing systems for optimum human use. This involves understanding how people work and use information and how people use existing systems to accomplish their work, it also includes evaluating novel tools that facilitate access to and use of information. As a result her research lies at the intersection of human computer interaction, information retrieval and the representation and presentation of information. Elaine’s current research includes improving search systems to support real-life work tasks (rather than bags of words), new approaches to evaluating search systems, understanding serendipity and how systems can deliver on serendipity and the relationship between human curiosity ...