InformationSeeking in NeLI

1
Information-Seeking in NeLI

• Deferred Action
• Nandish V Patel
• Patty Kostkova

2
Joint Research

• NeLi designers initiated joint research to
  improve information-seeking results
• Deferred theory
• E-library design
• Web technologies

3
Joint Research

• Talk format
• Describe the research
• Major concepts underpinning it
• How it will be conducted
• Current applications of the deferred theory

4
The NeLI e-Library

• Specialist library of the National electronic
  Library of Health
• NeLI provides information on infectious diseases

• Compilation of documents appraised by
  professionals
• Live in November 2003

5
Information-Seeking

• How do professionals search for
  information/knowledge in NeLI?
• People prefer browsing

6
Framing the Problem

• We have framed the problem thus
• How can natural or social human information
  seeking behaviour, termed deferred action, be
  understood, synthesised and reflected by formal
  search design in a digital library, termed
  planned action?

7
Assumptions

• Our assumptions are
• People will deviate from the planned action
  design (confirmed by existing evaluations of
  NeLI)
• Peoples personal context in which they seek
  information is emergent (They will have an idea
  of what they want but it could change)
• Information seeking is purposeful and specific
  and is done within time constraints and other
  limited resources.

8
Research Approach

• The research is interpretive acknowledging
  researchers subjective position.
• The researchers dialogical reasoning on the
  Deferred Theory determined the theoretical
  preconceptions guiding the research design.
• Conversation Analysis (CA)
• CA is Conversation is methodical, organised,
  or designed and can be the object of study
  (Sacks, 1995). It contains methodical ways that
  embody knowledge of social interaction.

9
Other Quantitative Qualitative Instruments

• Min 10 professional users and medical students
  using NeLI in workshops and interviews (selected
  in collaboration with NeLI Advisory Board)
• Min 50 online (exit, pre and post questionnaires)
  filled by NeLI users (self-selected)
• Web logs will be available throughout the project
  from NeLI web server (currently, NeLI servers
  registers over 12 000 hits per month)

10
Combined Methods

• Identify patterns which in turn can help
  determine objects and deferred action
• Patterns and objects can be used for
  object-oriented programming and scripting

11
Understanding Human Action

• Critical distinction between
• Planned Action
• Action that is formalised in system design
• Suchmans Trukeese and European navigators
• Most system design is such planned action
• Deferred Action
• Action taken when formalised action is
  inappropriate and cannot be enacted because of
  lack of requisite information or knowledge to
  achieve goals
• Few systems applications, but very successful
  (Web and SS)

12
Deferred-Specified IT/IS Matrix
(Source The Logic of Deferring the Design
Process, In Patel N V (2003) Adaptive
Evolutionary Information Systems, Idea Group,
Hershey)
13
The Dimensions

• Plans (rationality)
• Methods, methodologies
• Emergence
• Emergence is human activity that cannot be
  codified (planned).
• Deferred Design Decisions
• The mechanism to implement deferred action
  systemically is Deferred Design Decisions (DDD).

14
Improving NeLI

• Explains how planned action can be combined with
  emergence, through the concept of deferred action
  to enable DDD.
• It may be able to provide a better model of
  actual information-seeking behaviours.
• Current applications in banking and Greek
  government departments, British local government