Haakon Lund

Developing a test collection for the evaluation of integrated search

The poster discusses the characteristics needed in an information retrieval (IR) test collection to facilitate the evaluation of integrated search, i.e. search across a range of different sources but with one search box and one ranked result list, and describes and analyses a new test collection constructed for this purpose. The test collection consists of approx. 18,000 monographic records, 160,000 papers and journal articles in PDF and 275,000 abstracts with a varied set of metadata and vocabularies from the physics domain, 65 topics based on real work tasks and corresponding graded relevance assessments. The test collection may be used for systems- as well as user-oriented evaluation.

Users, structured documents and overlap: interactive searching of elements and the influence of context on search behaviour

This paper contains an analysis of user behaviour when interacting with the result list of an information retrieval (IR) system retrieving elements from structured documents. The data set was obtained from the INEX 2005 Interactive Track, where a group of users searched information on travel destinations marked up in XML. The aim of this study is to determine the user preferences for element granularity and to examine how the users deal with overlapping elements. In addition, the difference in user behaviour when viewing the results in isolation or in the context of the surrounding elements is analysed. The results suggest that the users prefer element of depth 2-4 to whole documents. Users view fewer overlapping elements than expected and the user behaviour suggests the users consciously view some overlapping elements. There is almost no difference in behaviour whether the users view the element in the context of its document or in isolation.

Wrist-worn pervasive gaze interaction

This paper addresses gaze interaction for smart home control, conducted from a wrist-worn unit. First we asked ten people to enact the gaze movements they would propose for e.g. opening a door or adjusting the room temperature. On basis of their suggestions we built and tested different versions of a prototype applying off-screen stroke input. Command prompts were given to twenty participants by text or arrow displays. The success rate achieved by the end of their first encounter with the system was 46% in average; it took them 1.28 seconds to connect with the system and 1.29 seconds to make a correct selection. Their subjective evaluations were positive with regard to the speed of the interaction. We conclude that gaze gesture input seems feasible for fast and brief remote control of smart home technology provided that robustness of tracking is improved.

A gaze interactive textual smartwatch interface

Mobile gaze interaction is challenged by inherent motor noise. We examined the gaze tracking accuracy and precision of twelve subjects wearing a gaze tracker on their wrist while standing and walking. Results suggest that it will be possible to detect whether people are glancing the watch, but not where on the screen they are looking. To counter the motor noise we present a word-by-word textual UI that shows temporary command options to be executed by gaze-strokes. Twenty-seven participants conducted a simulated smartwatch task and were able to reliably perform commands that would adjust the speed of word presentation or make regressions. We discuss future design and usage options for a textual smartwatch gaze interface.

A GazeWatch Prototype

We demonstrate potentials of adding a gaze tracking unit to a smartwatch, allowing hands-free interaction with the watch itself and control of the environment. Users give commands via gaze gestures, i.e. looking away and back to the GazeWatch. Rapid presentation of single words on the watch display provides a rich and effective textual interface. Finally, we exemplify how the GazeWatch can be used as a ubiquitous pointer on large displays.

Eye tracking in library and information science: a literature review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review of the application of eye-tracking technology within the field of library and information science. Eye-tracking technology has now reached a level of maturity, which makes the use of the technology more accessible. Subsequently, a growing interest in employing eye tracking as a methodology within library and information science research must be anticipated. Design/methodology/approach The review follows the guidelines set in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations. Two reference databases are searched for relevant references: Library and Information Science Abstracts and Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts. The main selection criteria are peer-reviewed literature that describes the experimental setting, including which eye-tracking equipment was used, the number of test persons and reports on the eye-tracking measures. Furthermore, this study will report which other methods were applied in combination with eye tracking. Findings The number of published research utilizing eye-tracking technologies within library and information science (LIS) is still limited although an increase in the use of eye-tracking technologies is observed during recent years. Originality/value To the knowledge of the author, this is the first systematic review on eye-tracking technology and application in LIS.

Advancing PubMed? A comparison of third-party PubMed/Medline tools

Purpose Systematic reviews of biomedical literature are used to inform patient treatment. Yet the acquisition of relevant literature is proving increasingly challenging due to the large volume of information that needs to be searched, filtered and collocated. There is a need to improve the efficiency of biomedical literature searches. PubMed remains the primary resource for biomedical literature, and as PubMed makes the Medline data and Entrez PubMed Programming utilities freely available, any developer can produce alternative tools to search the database. The authors question if PubMed still provides the superior search interface for systematic searches or if the innovativeness of third-party tools provide alternatives worth considering. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In all, 76 third-party tools that build on PubMed content were identified in a PubMed search and in published studies known to the authors. Only tools that provided free access to the broad PubMed content and designed specifically to enhance the search were included, reducing the set to 16 tools. The functionality of each tool within the scenario of a systematic search was compared across 11 aspects. A systematic search in PubMed was used as study control. Findings The 16 tools limited rather than advanced the sorting, filtering, and export functionality required in a systematic search. The reproducibility of the searches in these sources was reduced. The study shows that PubMed remains the superior provider for searching, identifying, and exporting biomedical literature for systematic reviews. Originality/value The work contributes to the discussion of how librarians can help researchers navigate the biomedical literature in systematic reviews.

CHAOS: User-driven Development of a Metadata Scheme for Radio Broadcast Archives

CHAOS 1 (Cultural Heritage Archive Open System) is a digital platform for Danish radio broadcasts. Radio broadcasts are an important and vibrant part of our cultural heritage, but providing efficient and effective access to such archives is challenging for lack of a solid digital infrastructure. The Danish LARM project aims to meet this challenge by making one million hours of radio programs available to humanities researchers through the digital platform CHAOS. CHAOS is being built in close cooperation with the researchers involved in LARM. In this paper, we present the user-driven development of the multi-tiered metadata scheme used in CHAOS.

Gaze Interaction and Access to Library Collection

A new module in the GazeTalk eye-typing communication software for people with severe disabilities has been developed The web-service based module enables the user to gain access to a collection of digitized full text. This demonstration shows the functionalities in the library access module.

Physicists' information tasks: structure, length and retrieval performance

In this poster, we describe central aspects of 65 natural information tasks from 23 senior researchers, PhDs, and experienced MSc students from three different university departments of physics. We analyze 1) the main purpose of the information task, 2) which and how many search facets were used to describe the tasks, 3) what semantic categories were used to express the search facets, and 4) retrieval performance. Results show variety in structure and length across task descriptions and task purposes. The results indicate effect of length and, in particular, of task purpose on retrieval performance of different document description levels that should be examined further.