Abstract
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate the usability, usefulness and effectiveness of an Interactive, Information Retrieval – IIR system with a DSpace-based digital library.Design/methodology/approach– The proposed evaluation approach consists of two subcomponents. The first one refers to a log file analysis capable of revealing quantitative features of the systems’ usage. The second part refers to a user survey that compares the new IIR system against the traditional subject-based search functionality provided by DSpace in terms of usefulness and effectiveness. Findings- Based on the evaluation results, it seems that users are very interested in employing new methods and techniques in information seeking and retrieval, especially when such new tools and methods help them in fulfilling their information needs accurately and timely. The results also revealed that the users are more satisfied when employing the new search functionality and the search and retrieval process is improved.Originality/value - A novel IIR system for subject-based browsing was evaluated and interesting results for the future of such tools are shown.
Highlights
Nowadays, searching for information is beyond any doubt very common and it is exercised widely from search professionals, and from average users [1] [2]
The participants were gathered in a computer lab and they were informed about the purpose of the survey. They were asked to fill-in a prequestionnaire in order to record their search profiles
The whole process was supervised by the evaluators in order to ensure that there would be no technical difficulties in conducting their tasks. After they had completed both scenarios, they were asked to fill-in an designed post-questionnaire in order to express their opinion about the two systems under comparison
Summary
Nowadays, searching for information is beyond any doubt very common and it is exercised widely from search professionals, and from average users [1] [2]. In many cases they do not support searchers in finding the right tactic in order to satisfy their information needs with accuracy and in a short time [5]. Average users try to express their information needs as a search query that may contain several meanings, failing in accurately specifying their requests and fulfilling their information needs [6]. In case of an unsuccessful search, average users reformulate their query by adding, deleting or replacing terms [7]. This could be interpreted that searchers may spend too much time in finding the right terms that will satisfy their information needs [8]
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