Dynamics and dimensions of user information problems as foci of interaction in information retrieval

Building on a preliminary study presented at the 1997 ASIS annual meeting (Robins, 1997), the author presents the results of additional analyses of shifts of focus in IR interaction. The results (from the author's dissertation) indicate that users and search intermediaries work toward search goals in nonlinear fashion. Twenty interactions between twenty different users and one of four different search intermediaries were examined. Analysis of discourse between the two parties during interactive information retrieval (IR) shows changes in topic occurs, on average, every seven utterances. These twenty interactions included some 9,858 utterances and 1,439 foci. Utterances are defined as any uninterrupted sound, statement, gesture, etc. made by a participant in the discourse dyad. These utterances are segmented by the researcher according to their inentional focus, i.e., the topic on which the conversation between the user and search intermediary focus until the focus changes (i.e., shifts of focus). In all but two of the 20 interactions, the search intermediary initiated a majority of shifts of focus. Six focus categories were observed. These were foci dealing with: documents; evaluation of search results; search strategies; IR system; topic of the search; and information about the user.