Cognition and changes of search terms and tactics during task performance: a longitudinal case study
Pertti Vakkari · RIAO Conference · 2000
The objective of this study is to analyse how changes in users' problem stages during task performance are related to changes in search tactics and term choice. It is analysed how students' growing understanding of the topic is related to their choice of search tactics and terms during accomplishing a research proposal for a master's theses. The participants of the study were 11 students who attended a seminar during which they were to prepare a research proposal. They made a search in LISA data-base in the beginning, middle and end of the seminar. Data for describing their understanding of the work task, search goals and tactics as well as term choices were collected during the search sessions. A pre- and post-search interview was conducted during each session. The students were asked to think aloud during the search session. The transaction logs were captured and the think alouds were recorded. The results show that the students' problem stages during-the task performance were connected to their choice of search terms and tactics. The differentiating conceptual representation of the task by the students lead them to use more and increasingly specified search terms, more and varied operators as well as more tactics in the course of their project.