ONLINE SEARCH INTERFACE DESIGN
| Published date | 01 February 1993 |
| Pages | 103-107 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026912 |
| Date | 01 February 1993 |
| Author | BRIAN VICKERY,ALINA VICKERY |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THE
Journal of Documentation
VOLUME
49
NUMBER 2 JUNE 1993
ONLINE SEARCH INTERFACE DESIGN
BRIAN VICKERY and ALINA VICKERY
Oxford
There is a huge amount of information and data stored in publicly
available online databases that consist of large text files accessed by
Boolean search techniques. It is widely held that less use is made of
these databases than could or should be the case, and that one reason
for this is that potential users find it difficult to identify which databases
to search, to use the various command languages of the hosts and to
construct the Boolean search statements required. This reasoning has
stimulated a considerable amount of exploration and development
work on the construction of search interfaces, to aid the inexperienced
user to gain effective access to these databases [1].
The aim of our paper is to review aspects of the design of such
interfaces: to indicate the requirements that must be met if maximum
aid is to be offered to the inexperienced searcher; to spell out the
knowledge that must be incorporated in an interface if such aid is to be
given; to describe some of the solutions that have been implemented in
experimental and operational interfaces; and to discuss some of the
problems encountered. The paper closes with an extensive bibli-
ography of references relevant to online search aids, going well beyond
the items explicitly mentioned in the text. An index to software appears
after the bibliography at the end of the paper.
THE ONLINE SEARCH PROCESS
WE ASSUME THAT THE USER has access to a terminal that is linked via
telecommunications to a variety of online hosts, on which databases are
mounted, and that the following activities occur:
- user approaches system with query;
- query is clarified, its scope adjusted;
- appropriate stores (databases) are selected, and the hosts on which
they are available;
Journal
of
Documentation,
vol.
49,
no. 2, June
1993,
pp. 103-187
103
JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION vol. 49, no. 2
- query is formulated in the vocabulary suitable for the selected
databases;
- query is expressed as a search statement in the format required by the
selected host, using Boolean and other search operators (proximity,
truncation, field restriction, limits);
*- selected host is dialled up and logged on;
- selected database file is entered;
- search statement is transmitted to host, using appropriate command
language;
- search output is presented to user in selected format;
- if search output is not acceptable to user, search statement is amended;
- switching may take place between databases;
- search output is delivered to user (printed or downloaded);
- further hosts may be accessed.
Normally, the step
*
marks the separation between activities conducted offline
and online, but the move from one to the other may be taken earlier, so as to
use online facilities to select databases or consult their vocabularies. The user
may be helped to make the search by interaction with an intermediary.
We can visualise that aid from a computer interface may be invoked at a
number of points in this process, aiming to:
- establish the context of the query, e.g. general subject area, search
purpose;
- help in choosing appropriate databases and hosts;
- offer user-friendly facilities to express an information requirement;
- permit the enquirer to state an information query in his or her own
words;
- assist in clarifying the expression of the query;
- adjust the scope of the query so that the volume of retrievable
information and the cost of search is acceptable;
- formulate the query in the vocabulary used in the chosen databases;
- express the query as a search statement in the required format;
- handle the 'housekeeping' activities of dialup, logon, file selection,
downloading;
- transmit the search statement to the host, using the appropriate
command language, and if necessary switch between hosts and
command languages;
- in search amendment, change the Boolean or other search operators,
and/or change search terms by various means, including relevance
feedback;
- present the search output in a helpful form, e.g. by ranking in order of
probable relevance;
- if output is obtained from more than one database, eliminate
duplicate items;
- provide multilingual facilities.
104
June 1993 ONLINE INTERFACE DESIGN
FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
The user aids that may be provided, indicated above, lead us to specify a
number of functional requirements for an intelligent online user interface
[2,
3].
Context of information search
To guide the subsequent actions of the interface, initial action can be taken to
establish:
- general characteristics of the user;
- the subject area of the required search;
- specific limitations of the current query.
These functions require that the interface should have facilities for interacting
with the user to:
- create a user model;
- identify the search subject area;
- create a search specification.
Selection of databases and hosts
Databases (and the hosts on which they reside) can be selected either:
- by inference from the context data already collected;
- by further interaction with the user.
To perform these functions the interface must have access to information on:
- the subject areas covered by databases;
- the content of databases (database descriptions).
User expression of query
The least user-friendly facility that can be provided is to require the user to
express a query as a search statement that can be directly transmitted to a host.
Aid can be provided to permit the expression of a query:
- as a succession of unrelated search terms;
- by selection of search terms from menus;
- by entry into a structured template;
- in the natural language of the user (free expression).
Interface features necessitated by these functions include:
- hierarchical menus covering the vocabularies of appropriate subject
domains;
- templates displaying the structure of appropriate databases;
- language processing facilities.
Query clarification
The interface can conduct a dialogue with the user to clarify:
105
To continue reading
Request your trial