Collaborative Information Retrieval

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Collaborative Information Retrieval

• Raya Fidel
• The Information School
• University of Washington

Supported by a grant from the National Science
Foundation.
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CIR Research Team

• University of Washington
• Raya Fidel
• Harry Bruce
• Risoe Center for Human-Machine Interaction
• Annelise Mark Pejtersen
• Microsoft Research
• Susan Dumais
• Jonathan Grudin
• Boeing
• Steven Poltrock

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What is CIR?

• Any activity that is taken by members of a
  work-team to collectively resolve an information
  problem.

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Does CIR exist?

• Evidence in the following areas
• Among engineers in R D organizations
• In patient care in hospitals
• Education
• Problem No study has investigated the process of
  CIR

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The Projects Goals

• To discover and analyze some manifestations of
  CIR as they occur in the work place.
• To extend an existing conceptual framework to
  address CIR.
• To suggest technological and organizational
  developments that might enhance CIR.

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Research MethodField studies of four teams that
include Sitting in meetings Interviewing team
members and others Observation Critical
incident

• All verbal protocols are transcribed for analysis

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The First TeamCreated to design the interface
for a new product

• Age 6 months
• Nine members, one of which is the manager

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CIR Manifestation

• CIR takes place when one or more members of a
  team obtains information from outside the team
  that pertains to the teams work.
• Information sharing takes place when team members
  give and obtain information among themselves that
  pertains to the teams work.
• Information giving takes place when one or more
  members of the team gives information to someone
  outside the team.

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The Conceptual FrameworkFramework for Cognitive
Work Analysis and Evaluation Jens Rasmussen and
Annelise Mark Pejtersen

• First Step Analysis
• Second Step Evaluation

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Why this Framework?

• In-depth analysis of information behavior
  processes
• In-depth analysis of the context
• A bridge from behavior to design recommendations
• Comparisons among studies
• It has been used effectively in previous studies

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Framework for Work Analysis
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User CharacteristicsE.g., formal training, area
of expertise, tasks

• Education from high school to Ph.D.
• Areas such as visual communication, cognitive
  psychology, and kinesiology.
• Level of subject expertise between 3 and 20
  years.
• Experience in the company seven less than a
  year, two seven years.
• Tasks interface design, visual design, usability
  testing.

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Task Situation Mental StrategiesE.g.,
preference about information sources, information
seeking style

• Participate in meetings
• Go to office of person who can give the
  information needed
• Create the information together
• Give information in order to receive information
  needed
• Browse Web pages of similar products
• Sign up to distribution lists on a variety of
  levels

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Task Situation Decision MakingE.g.,
information need, information use, decisions made

• Most common information need design
  specifications
• Examples of decisions
• How to construct the menus for navigation
• How to develop metrics for usability
• What to name the product
• How to negotiate and coordinate with the other
  units involved in the design

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Task Situation Work DomainE.g., purpose of
task, physical activities involved, priorities

• Examples of tasks involved
• Analysis
• Design
• Reporting

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Example Reporting on a usability test

• Goals
• To inform the teams design decisions
• To receive feedback from the team
• To promote ones design approach
• Constraints
• The empirical data
• The form of presentation

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• Priorities
• To affect design decisions
• Functions
• Planning the presentation
• Preparing the presentation
• Consulting with manager
• Presenting

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• Activities
• Write a report
• Talk to manager
• Talk to other team members
• Write handouts
• Make copies of handouts
• Talk at meeting
• Physical resources
• Offices
• Meeting rooms
• Hallways
• Technology (specific for preparing the report)

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Work Domain Analysis StructureE.g., goals of
the team, priorities, work processes
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Organizational Analysis Division of WorkE.g.,
how is the work divided among the team, criteria
used

• The manager decides about the goals,
  constraints, and priorities
• Anyone may decide about the functions, the
  physical activities, and the physical resources
  to be used
• Criteria for dividing the work within the team
• Subject expertise
• The type of information to which one has access
• What team members like to do
• Cognitive styles

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Organizational Analysis Social
OrganizationE.g., communication among peers

• Hierarchy and negotiation
• Work is coordinated through
• Three regularly scheduled team meetings a week
• Ad hoc meetings
• Conversations with manager
• Conversations with other team members

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Instances of Information Problems

• For each instance we analyze
• What was the information need
• The context
• What decisions were/will be supported
• How did the team come to recognize the
  information need
• How did the team get a shared understanding of
  the information need
• How did the team go about resolving it

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Future Plan

• Phase 1
• Observations and interviews
• Four teams and their members in Boeing and
  Microsoft
• Phase 2
• Evaluative data analysis
• Survey instrument
• Validity and generalizability
• Descriptive and evaluative report
• Phase 3
• Technological enhancements
• Organizational enhancements

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If you want to follow up

• Please visit
• http//www.ischool.washington.edu/cir/