From Task-based Evaluation to Feature-based Evaluation in Personal Search
Seyedeh Sargol Sadeghi, Mark Sanderson, Falk Scholer · 2012
Task-based evaluation has been suggested as a solution for comparing search systems in the personal context. However, as personal search tasks are broad, dependent on users, and have different levels of specificity [3], focusing on the building blocks (or characteristics) of these tasks could provide a more reliable and maintainable alternative for evaluation. Moreover, the characteristics can be used to determine to what extent evaluation results are generalizable and comparable across different users and tasks. In this position paper, a characteristic reference model for personal search tasks will be introduced. Based on this model, different search systems can be compared not only in relation to task types, but also in terms of the characteristics that are most influential in search tasks, increasing the level of detail at which comparisons can be made.