[Sig-l] REMINDER: ASIST SIG USE Research Symposium Call for Participation

[wildem at ils.unc.edu]

2ND CALL -- PLEASE EXCUSE CROSS-POSTING

2nd Annual Research Symposium of the Special Interest Group on Information 
Needs, Seeking, and Use (SIG USE) of the American Society for Information 
Science and Technology (ASIST)

Saturday, November 16, 2002, 1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, Philadelphia, PA


MEASURING SEARCH BEHAVIORS:  CURRENT AND PROPOSED METHODS

Call for Participation

In 1999, Yuan and Meadow (JASIS, 50(2), 140-150) completed a study of the 
variables used in research related to online searching and information 
retrieval system use.  Variables related to search behaviors included the 
search commands (types of commands, sequences/chains of commands, and 
search moves), errors, search cycles (number, items retrieved), search 
termination, records retrieved and viewed, amount of time and effort 
expended, comparisons between search  strategies, search outcomes 
(relevance/utility), and search value.  They reviewed examples of user 
studies that included measures of search behaviors as a basis for 
developing this typology.  The 2002 SIG USE Research Symposium will focus 
on methods for measuring these variables.

The symposium will begin with an introductory presentation by Charles 
Meadow, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto.  The remainder of the 
symposium will consist of informal discussions of the methods that 
participants have used (or are planning to use) in studies of search 
behaviors.  Participants will work in small groups to critique particular 
methods currently in use or develop proposals for new methods that can be 
used to measure particular searching behaviors.  The intended outcome of 
the symposium is a set of recommendations for researchers embarking on 
investigations of users' interactions with retrieval systems.

Those wishing to participate in the symposium should submit a brief (1-2 
page) synopsis of their current work or interests that are pertinent to the 
symposium topic.  Experienced researchers are invited to participate; the 
submitted synopsis should summarize current or past research experiences 
that involve the measurement of search behaviors. Those interested in this 
area, but not experienced in it, are also invited to participate; the 
submitted synopsis should describe current research interests and how 
measurement of search behaviors is pertinent to those interests.  Formal 
papers are not expected; the symposium format will be that of a seminar, 
focusing on participant discussion.

The brief synopses of participants' research  experience/interests will be 
posted to a symposium web site in advance of the meeting and will be used 
to further organize the small-group discussion session(s).

The brief synoposis should be submitted to Barbara Wildemuth, 
wildem at ils.unc.edu, in electronic form.  They are due by August 15, 2002; 
participants will be notified by August 30.  Participation will be limited 
to 40 people; participants will be expected to register for the symposium 
(registration fee: $45 for ASIST members; $60 for non-members).

Symposium organizers:  Barbara Wildemuth, School of Information and Library 
Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wildem at ils.unc.edu, 
and Eileen Abels, College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, 
ea29 at umail.umd.edu.