We use high frequency internet search data to study in real time how US households sought out online learning resources as schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By April 2020, nationwide search intensity for both school- and parent-centered online learning resources had roughly doubled relative to baseline. Areas of the country with higher…

Excessive college course withdrawals are costly to the student and the institution in terms of time to degree completion, available classroom space, and other resources. Although generally well quantified, detailed analysis of the reasons given by students for course withdrawal is less common. To address this, a text mining analysis was performed…

Considers a new approach to construction of single-valued measures for evaluation of search results. A general statement of the order preservation property is given, and all considered single-valued measures are analyzed for the existence of this property. Problems of legitimacy of the use of single-valued measures in various situations are…

Addresses the query- versus document-oriented dichotomy in information retrieval. Introduces a maximum likelihood approach to utilizing feedback data that can be used to construct a concrete object function that estimates both document and query parameters in accordance with all available feedback data. (AEF)

Discusses intermediate results in a long-term project intended to develop a measurement scale based on users' relevance criteria. Based on results of five tests involving 350 users, this paper describes the development process in terms of modifications to instrument content and design, variations of techniques for data collection and analysis,…

Aspects of Data Fusion (DF) for information retrieval are explored. Based on a geometrical model of DF, it is shown that in the ideal case, performance of DF for a pair of information retrieval schemes may be approximated by a quadratic polynomial. Compares counter-intuitive cases of DF with cases that behave according to the geometric model. (AEF)

Proposes methods to utilize image primitives to support term assignment for image classification. Proposes to release code for image analysis in a common tool set for other researchers to use. Of particular focus is the expansion of work by researchers in image indexing to include image content-based feature extraction capabilities in their work.…

Uses an information processing approach to analyze the pausal behavior of end-users and identifies reasons for pausing, location of pauses, hesitation rate and pausal behavior changes over time. Confirms that searchers pause less frequently and for shorter periods as they progressed through searches over time. (Author/AEF)

The method described permits visual analysis of information retrieval (IR) experiment results in classic control and treatment group protocols. It is an additional analysis technique for the evaluation of IR procedures that may be conducted within the rich terrain of human visual acuity, supported by two well-known statistical measures. (Contains…

Examines the usefulness of the Eisenberg-Berkowitz Information Problem-Solving model as a categorization for academic reference encounters. Major trends in the data include a high proportion of questions about location and access of sources, lack of synthesis or production activities, and consistent presence of system problems that impede the…

Describes the methodology and results of the log analysis for the Alcohol Studies Database (ASDB), a domain-specific database supported by the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University Libraries. The objectives were to better understand user search behavior, to analyze failure rates, and to develop approaches for improving the user…

Presents the background and rationale for a description of information systems which places typical information retrieval and other types of systems in context with one another. Examples are drawn from various types of information systems, and a typology is derived for identifying useful combinations of data type, retrieval mechanism, and…

Over the last decade, studies of online catalogs have revealed that they frequently discourage users. Subject queries often fail to produce retrievals or produce retrieval sets that are too large and unwieldy to be easily scanned. Research shows that users are seeking alternative approaches to those that manipulate the subject headings in catalog…

Prepared to introduce adult education program planners to the basic concepts integral to and alternative strategies for conducting needs assessments, this instructional handbook consists of a series of six chapters or instructional booklets (also available separately--see note.) Topics covered in each chapter are as follows: introduction to needs…

Graduate schools have been admitting more and more students older than the "traditional" 18- to 24-year-old campus population. These adult learners may come to their programs of study without formal training in library use in general or literature searches in particular. By examining various successful and unsuccessful strategies used by…