article

Search task features in work tasks of varying types and complexity

Authors:

Miamaria Saastamoinen,

Kalervo JärvelinAuthors Info & Claims

Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Volume 68, Issue 5

Pages 1111 - 1123

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23766

Published: 01 May 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Information searching in practice seldom is an end in itself. In work, work task WT performance forms the context, which information searching should serve. Therefore, information retrieval IR systems development/evaluation should take the WT context into account. The present paper analyzes how WT features: task complexity and task types, affect information searching in authentic work: the types of information needs, search processes, and search media. We collected data on 22 information professionals in authentic work situations in three organization types: city administration, universities, and companies. The data comprise 286 WTs and 420 search tasks STs. The data include transaction logs, video recordings, daily questionnaires, interviews. and observation. The data were analyzed quantitatively. Even if the participants used a range of search media, most STs were simple throughout the data, and up to 42% of WTs did not include searching. WT's effects on STs are not straightforward: different WT types react differently to WT complexity. Due to the simplicity of authentic searching, the WT/ST types in interactive IR experiments should be reconsidered.

References

[1]

Algon, J. 1997. Classifications of tasks, steps, and information-related behaviors of individuals on project teams. In P.Vakkari, R.Savolainen, &B.Dervin Eds., Information seeking in context. Proceedings of an international conference on research in information needs, seeking and use in different contexts pp. pp.205-221. London, UK: Taylor Graham Publishing.

[2]

Bates, M.J. 1989. The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface. Online Review, Volume 13, pp.407-424.

[3]

Borlund, P. 2003. The IIR evaluation model: A framework for evaluation of interactive information retrieval systems. Information Research, Volume 8, paper pp.152.

[4]

Broder, A. 2002. A taxonomy of web search. ACM Sigir Forum, Volume 36, pp.3-10.

Digital Library

[5]

Byström, K., &Hansen, P. 2005. Conceptual framework for tasks in information studies. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Volume 56, pp.1050-1061.

[6]

Byström, K., &Järvelin, K. 1995. Task complexity affects information seeking and use. Information Processing & Management, Volume 31, pp.191-213.

[7]

Du, J.T. 2014. The information journey of marketing professionals: Incorporating WT-driven information seeking, information judgments, information use, and information sharing. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Volume 65, pp.1850-1859.

Digital Library

[8]

Foster, J. 2006. Collaborative information seeking and retrieval. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Volume 40, pp.329-356.

Digital Library

[9]

Gwizdka, J., &Spence, I. 2006. What can searching behavior tell us about the difficulty of information tasks? A study of web navigation. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Volume 43, pp.1-22.

[10]

Hackman, J.R. 1968. Effects of task characteristics on group products. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 4, pp.162-187.

[11]

Hansen, P. 2011. Task-based information seeking and retrieval in the patent domain. Processes and relationships. Academic Dissertation, University of Tampere, Finland.

[12]

Ingwersen, P. 1986. Cognitive analysis and the role of the intermediary in information retrieval. In R.Davies Ed., Intelligent information systems pp. pp.206-237. Chichester, UK: Horwood.

[13]

Ingwersen, P., &Järvelin, K. 2005. The turn: Integration of information seeking and retrieval in context the information retrieval series. Secaucus, NJ: Springer-Verlag New York.

[14]

Järvelin, K., Vakkari, P., Arvola, P., Baskaya, F., Järvelin, A., Kekäläinen, J ' &Sormunen, E. 2015. Task-based information interaction evaluation: The viewpoint of program theory. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, Volume 33 Issue 3, pp.1-3:30.

[15]

Kellar, M., Watters, C., &Shepherd, M. 2006. The impact of task on the usage of web browser navigation mechanisms. Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2006 pp. pp.235-242. Toronto, Ont., Canada: Canadian Information Processing Society.

[16]

Kelly, D. 2006. Measuring online information seeking context, part 2: Findings and discussion. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Volume 57, pp.1862-1874.

Digital Library

[17]

Kelly, D., Arguello, J., &Capra, R. 2013. NSF workshop on task-based information search systems. SIGIR Forum, Volume 47, pp.116-127.

[18]

Kotov, A., Bennett, P.N., White, R.W., Dumais, S.T., &Teevan, J. 2011. Modeling and analysis of cross-session search tasks. Proceedings of the 34th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, Beijing, China pp. pp.5-14. New York: ACM.

[19]

Kumpulainen, S. 2014. Trails across the heterogeneous information environment. Journal of Documentation, Volume 70, pp.856-877.

[20]

Kumpulainen, S., &Järvelin, K. 2010. Information interaction in molecular medicine: Integrated use of multiple channels. Proceedings of the Third Symposium on Information Interaction in Context, New Brunswick, NJ pp. pp.95-104. New York: ACM.

[21]

Li, Y. 2009. Exploring the relationships between work task and search task in information search. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Volume 60, pp.275-291.

[22]

Li, Y., &Belkin, N.J. 2008. A faceted approach to conceptualizing tasks in information seeking. Information Processing & Management, Volume 44, pp.1822-1837.

Digital Library

[23]

Liu, J., Kim, C.S., &Creel, C. 2015. Exploring search task difficulty reasons in different task types and user knowledge groups. Information Processing & Management, Volume 51, pp.273-285.

Digital Library

[24]

Liu, P., &Li, Z. 2012. Task complexity: a review and conceptualization framework. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Volume 42, pp.553-568.

[25]

Maynard, D.C., &Hakel, M.D. 1997. Effects of objective and subjective task complexity on performance. Human Performance, Volume 10, pp.303-330.

[26]

Nicholas, D., Williams, P., Rowlands, I., &Jamali, H.R. 2010. Researchers' e-journal use and information seeking behaviour. Journal of Information Science, Volume 36, pp.494-516.

Digital Library

[27]

Pharo, N. 2004. A new model of information behaviour based on the search situation transition schema. Information Research, Volume 10, paper 203.

[28]

Pharo, N., &Järvelin, K. 2004. The SST method: A tool for analysing web information search processes. Information Processing & Management, Volume 40, pp.633-654.

Digital Library

[29]

Saastamoinen, M., &Järvelin, K. in press. Queries in authentic work tasks: The effects of task type and complexity. Journal of Documentation in press.

[30]

Saastamoinen, M., Kumpulainen, S., &Järvelin, K. 2012. Task complexity and information searching in administrative tasks revisited. Proceedings of the Fourth Information Interaction in Context Symposium, Nijmegen, The Netherlands pp. pp.204-213. New York: ACM.

[31]

Saastamoinen, M., Kumpulainen, S., Vakkari, P., &Järvelin, K. 2013. Task complexity affects information use: a questionnaire study in city administration. Information Research, Volume 18, paper 592.

[32]

Toms, E.G. 2011. Task-based information searching and retrieval. In I.Ruthven &D.Kelly Eds., Interactive information seeking, behaviour and retrieval pp. pp.43-59. London: Facet Publishing.

[33]

Vakkari, P. 2003. Task-based information searching. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Volume 37, pp.413-464.

[34]

Vakkari, P., Pennanen, M., &Serola, S. 2003. Changes of search terms and tactics while writing a research proposal a longitudinal case study. Information Processing & Management, Volume 39, pp.445-463.

Digital Library

[35]

Wildemuth, B., Freund, L., &Toms, E.G., 2014. Untangling ST complexity and difficulty in the context of interactive information retrieval studies. Journal of Documentation, Volume 70, pp.1118-1140.

Cited By

Jarvelin KSormunen E(2024)A Blueprint of IR Evaluation Integrating Task and User CharacteristicsACM Transactions on Information Systems10.1145/367516242:6(1-38)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3675162
Shah CWhite RThomas PMitra BSarkar SBelkin N(2023)Taking Search to TaskProceedings of the 2023 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval10.1145/3576840.3578288(1-13)Online publication date: 19-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3576840.3578288
Wang YShah C(2022)Authentic versus syntheticJournal of the Association for Information Science and Technology10.1002/asi.2455473:3(362-375)Online publication date: 7-Feb-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1002/asi.24554
Show More Cited By

Search task features in work tasks of varying types and complexity
1. Information systems

Recommendations

Why Do Users Perceive Search Tasks As Difficult? Exploring Difficulty in Different Task Types
HCIR '13: Proceedings of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval

In this paper, we examined why information searchers perceive search tasks as difficult, and what factors/reasons make them perceive tasks as difficult. We also examined if task difficulty reasons vary across different tasks (task types). Data was ...
Exploring the relationships between work task and search task in information search

To provide a basis for making predictions of the characteristics of search task (ST), based on work task (WT), and to explore the nature of WT and ST, this study examines the relationships between WT and ST (inter-relationships) and the relationships ...
Differences in the Use of Search Assistance for Tasks of Varying Complexity
SIGIR '15: Proceedings of the 38th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval

In this paper, we study how users interact with a search assistance tool while completing tasks of varying complexity. We designed a novel tool referred to as the search guide (SG) that displays the search trails (queries issued, results clicked, pages ...

Comments

Please enable JavaScript to view thecomments powered by Disqus.

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology

Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology Volume 68, Issue 5

May 2017

267 pages

ISSN:2330-1635

EISSN:2330-1643

Issue’s Table of Contents

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 May 2017

Qualifiers

Article

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

13
Total Citations
View Citations
0
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)0
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)0

Reflects downloads up to 21 Nov 2024

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

Cited By

Jarvelin KSormunen E(2024)A Blueprint of IR Evaluation Integrating Task and User CharacteristicsACM Transactions on Information Systems10.1145/367516242:6(1-38)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3675162
Shah CWhite RThomas PMitra BSarkar SBelkin N(2023)Taking Search to TaskProceedings of the 2023 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval10.1145/3576840.3578288(1-13)Online publication date: 19-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3576840.3578288
Wang YShah C(2022)Authentic versus syntheticJournal of the Association for Information Science and Technology10.1002/asi.2455473:3(362-375)Online publication date: 7-Feb-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1002/asi.24554
Sarkar SShah CHasibi FFang YAizawa A(2021)An Integrated Model of Task, Information Needs, Sources and Uncertainty to Design Task-Aware Search SystemsProceedings of the 2021 ACM SIGIR International Conference on Theory of Information Retrieval10.1145/3471158.3472231(83-92)Online publication date: 11-Jul-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3471158.3472231
Lopatovska IKorshakova EBrown DLi YMin JPasiak AZheng KScholer FThomas PElsweiler DJoho HKando NSmith C(2021)User Perceptions of an Intelligent Personal Assistant's PersonalityProceedings of the 2021 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval10.1145/3406522.3446018(15-25)Online publication date: 14-Mar-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3406522.3446018
Shah CWhite RHuang JChang YCheng XKamps JMurdock VWen JLiu Y(2020)Tutorial on Task-Based Search and AssistanceProceedings of the 43rd International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval10.1145/3397271.3401422(2436-2439)Online publication date: 25-Jul-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3397271.3401422
Byström KKumpulainen S(2020)Vertical and horizontal relationships amongst task-based information needsInformation Processing and Management: an International Journal10.1016/j.ipm.2019.10206557:2Online publication date: 1-Mar-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.ipm.2019.102065
Singh V(2019)Predicting Search Intent Based on In-Search Context for Exploratory SearchInternational Journal of Advanced Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing10.4018/IJAPUC.201907010411:3(53-75)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/IJAPUC.2019070104
Kilian MAzzopardi LHalvey MRuthven IJoho HMurdock VQvarfordt P(2019)Where to Go and What to DoProceedings of the 2019 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval10.1145/3295750.3298972(413-416)Online publication date: 8-Mar-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3295750.3298972
Trippas JSpina DScholer FAwadallah ABailey PBennett PWhite RLiono JRen YSalim FSanderson MAzzopardi LHalvey MRuthven IJoho HMurdock VQvarfordt P(2019)Learning About Work Tasks to Inform Intelligent Assistant DesignProceedings of the 2019 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval10.1145/3295750.3298934(5-14)Online publication date: 8-Mar-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3295750.3298934
Show More Cited By

View Options

View options

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Full Access

Get this Publication

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

View Issue’s Table of Contents