Retrieval by reformulation in two library catalogs: Toward a cognitive model of searching behavior
Prudence W. Dalrymple · Journal of the American Society for Information Science · 1990
Twenty subjects were assigned information problems to solve through searching a university card catalog and twenty were assigned the same problems to solve in a comparable online catalog. The study was designed to test hypotheses derived from a psychological theory of remembering known as retrieval by reformulation, and to observe behavioral differences while searching the two catalogs. Verbal protocols were used to identify reformulations and to operationalize further the theoretical construct “reformulation.” Greater perseverance and more frequent search reformulations were associated with the online catalog, while larger retrieval sets and more favorable search assessments were associated with the card catalog. No significant differences were found on most attitudinal measures. Post hoc analyses examined include overlap of sets of retrieved items variance associated with the use of test questions. © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.