Supporting ease-of-use and user control: desired features and structure of Web-based online IR systems

摘要

The emergence of Web-based IR systems calls for the need to support ease-of-use as well as user control. This study attempts to investigate users’ perceptions of ease-of-use versus user control, and desired functionalities as well as desired interface structure of online IR systems in supporting both ease-of-use and user control. Forty subjects who had an opportunity to learn and use five online databases participated in the study. Multiple methods were employed to collect data. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data show that users consider both ease-of-use and user control are essential for effective retrieval. The results are discussed within the context of a model of optimal support for ease-of-use and user control, particularly, emphasizing on the balance between system role and user involvement in achieving various IR sub-tasks.