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Dissertation Information for Mu-Hsuan Huang

NAME:
- Mu-Hsuan Huang

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Maryland (USA) (1992)

ADVISORS:
- Marilyn Domas White

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: Pausing behavior of end-users in online searching

Abstract: This research used an information processing approach to analyze the behavior of end-users in searching online bibliographic databases, emphasizing their pausing behavior. It is based on viewing the search as a series of actions and pauses (rests). The end-users are 41 students and 3 faculty. After instruction, subjects searched throughout the semester, doing 79 searches. Nineteen did multiple searches.

Pausing behavior was related to time as a measure of growing experience. Six hypotheses were supported by the results of ANOVA and t-tests: The searchers paused less frequently and for shorter periods as they progressed through searches. With more experience and practice, searchers moved more smoothly online, and the ratio of pausing to online time decreased over time. Over a series of searches or cycles within long searches, searchers gradually began to chunk more information between pauses, both in amount of time and in number of elements. Pauses related to syntax decreased over time.

This study identified 250 reasons for pausing (e.g. to verify a set number, to choose appropriate term operator, to consider alternative terms) and 6 types of searches on the basis of pausing behavior. The six types of searches were highly associated with search fluency and the construction of a mental model. Types 1 and 2 describe gradations of fluent searches and Types 3 to 6 describe various slow searches. Type 1 and 2 searches were conducted by subjects who had more knowledge about the search topic and more experience in the search language and in CD-Rom searching. They generated fewer pauses and chunked more information online. They paused for shorter times and had a lower hesitation rate. The other types were conducted by subjects with less experience in the search language, in CD-Rom searching, and in the search topic. They made more syntax-related pauses (especially in the beginning of the searches), generated more and longer pauses, chunked !ess information online, and had a higher hesitation rate.

Finally, as searchers gained more experience, they increased their search proficiency and became more fluent online. The changes of search level in multiple searches showed most searchers moved toward greater fluency.

MPACT Scores for Mu-Hsuan Huang

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:18:10

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Students under Mu-Hsuan Huang

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None