Papers by Marcia J. Bates
College & Research Libraries, 1996
Over a two-year period, the Getty Information Institute (formerly the Getty Art History Informati... more Over a two-year period, the Getty Information Institute (formerly the Getty Art History Information Program) sponsored and carried out a major study of end-user online searching by humanities scholars. Complete logs of the searches and output were captured, and the twentyseven scholars involved were interviewed in depth. An overview of the study and its results is presented, with particular emphasis on matters of interest to academic librarians. Implications are drawn for academic library reference service and collection development, as well as for cataloging in the online and digital environment.
Proper citations
Journal of the American Society for Information Science
Information Behavior
"Information behavior" is the currently preferred term used to describe the many ways i... more "Information behavior" is the currently preferred term used to describe the many ways in which human beings interact with information, in particular, the ways in which people seek and utilize information. The broad history of research on information seeking behavior over the last 50-60 years is reviewed, major landmarks are identified, and current directions in research are discussed.
Crossing the divide: Putting information seeking research and theory into computer science practice to make information search systems and services more effective for the user
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2012
ABSTRACT With Carol Kuhlthau as moderator, we propose a panel of six information behavior researc... more ABSTRACT With Carol Kuhlthau as moderator, we propose a panel of six information behavior researchers with diverse views on operationalizing findings and theoretical positions in information behavior/information seeking research for application in information system design and for re-envisioning library and information services for technological information environments. Whereas computer-science designed information systems and technological environments in libraries are designed for the user with an answer or at least the form of the answer firmly in mind, information seeking research is interested in the user with a complex information need who utilizes an information system or library service for knowledge construction and sense-making. The dilemma is how to communicate information behavior/information seeking research and objectives to those who design the systems. The panelists propose different views on and solutions.
An Exploratory Profile of Personal Home Pages: Content, Design, Metaphors
Online and CD-Rom Review, 1997
Library & Information Science Research, 1995
Use of online databases by humanities scholars searching as end users was monitored in a 2-year p... more Use of online databases by humanities scholars searching as end users was monitored in a 2-year project conducted by the Getty Art History Information Program. Visiting Scholars at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Santa Monica, California, were offered the opportunity to do unlimited subsidized searching of DIALOG@ databases. This third report from the project presents results of interviews conducted with the scholars regarding their experiences with searching, the role the searching took in their broader research activities, and their attitudes about the future of online searching in the humanities. Scholars found the experience stimulating and novel, with comments ranging from its "addictive" properties to a "Sorcerer's Apprentice" quality to complaints about the "industrialization of scholarship." Generally, the scholars saw DIALOG searching as supplementing their usual research methods, and not changing them in a fundamental way. Online searching was seen as particularly useful for interdisciplinary research, and as possibly setting a new standard for the extent of literature that should be reviewed. Identified problems were about equally divided between difficulties with the search interface and lack of desired types of resources. All foresaw online searching being used in the future by arts and humanities scholars.
REVIEWS-Information Seeking in Context
The berry-picking search: user interface design
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2005
In an ideal of personal information management or PIM, people always have just the right informat... more In an ideal of personal information management or PIM, people always have just the right information, in the right form and at the right place, to meet their current information needs. Panelists all participated in a special workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation to consider the challenges of PIM that must be met in order to make significant progress towards this ideal. Panelists will discuss key challenges of and promising approaches to PIM. Approaches discussed involve not only high-technology tools but also practical, teachable everyday techniques of PIM.
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2002
The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface
Online Review, 1989
Abstract: First, a new model of searching in online and other information systems, called 'b... more Abstract: First, a new model of searching in online and other information systems, called 'berrypick- ing', is discussed. This model, it is argued, is much closer to the real behavior of information searchers than the traditional model of information retrieval is, and, consequently, will ...
Our highly digitized world brings us into contact with networked information systems with the pot... more Our highly digitized world brings us into contact with networked information systems with the potential to help us locate information quickly and easily at the touch of a button. But it is far from easy to quickly find the exact information we need. Every new resource added increases ...
Hierarchical goal decompositions have proved to be a useful method to make explicit the knowledge... more Hierarchical goal decompositions have proved to be a useful method to make explicit the knowledge required by users to perform tasks in a wide range of applications such as computeraided drafting (CAD) systems. This analysis method progressively decomposes a given task starting from the task layer on the top of the decomposition, to the keystroke layer at the bottom. The analysis enables a close inspection of the knowledge required to perform the task at each layer of the decomposition. In this paper we show how the method of hierarchical goal decomposition can be used to understand more precisely the knowledge that is required to perform information search tasks. The analysis pinpoints: (1) the critical strategies in the intermediate layers of knowledge that are known by experts searchers; (2) why such knowledge is difficult to acquire by novice searchers; (3) how the analysis provides testable predictions of behavior based on the acquisition of different types of knowledge. We conclude by discussing the advantages provided by hierarchical goal decompositions, and how such an approach can lead to the design of systems and training.
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2002
Abstract The concepts of evidence and information are both central to the theory and practice of ... more Abstract The concepts of evidence and information are both central to the theory and practice of many fields. Among different fields, however, there is little explicit consensus on the nature of the relationship between the two concepts. One of the tasks of information studies is to explore and evaluate conceptions of information as evidence.
THE DESIGN OF DATABASES AND OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR HUMANITIES SCHOLARS: THE GETTY ONLINE SEARCHING PROJECT REPORT NO. 4
Online and CD-Rom Review, 1994
TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION 2.3 RESEARCH AND DESIGN REVIEW: Improving User Access to Library Catalog and Portal Information FINAL REPORT (Version 3)
... However, early research on satisfaction with reference services came in at about 90 percent .... more ... However, early research on satisfaction with reference services came in at about 90 percent ... Force on Guidelines for OPAC Displays for the International Federation of Library Associations and ... In other words, the interface should present capabilities that mesh with the searching ...
Proceedings of the ASIST Annual Meeting, 2003
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2006
Our highly digitized world brings us into contact with networked information systems with the pot... more Our highly digitized world brings us into contact with networked information systems with the potential to help us locate information quickly and easily at the touch of a button. But it is far from easy to quickly find the exact information we need. Every new resource added increases ...
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2012
The panel will discuss the intellectual differences between iSchool and Information Science progr... more The panel will discuss the intellectual differences between iSchool and Information Science programs that are not part of the iSchool Caucus, referred here as L-Schools. The panelists, who represent both communities, will discuss the foundational, philosophical, and formal differences between the two types of programs, and focus on the intellectual diversity of the two academic communities.
What Is a Reference Book? A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis
Reference books have traditionally been defined administratively (e.g., as books that are noncirc... more Reference books have traditionally been defined administratively (e.g., as books that are noncirculating) or functionally (e.g., as books used for reference), rather than descriptively (i.e., in terms of the essential characteristics that distinguish reference books from other books). It is argued that in order to provide a scientific basis for the study of reference, as well as to promote the study of search strategy, a descriptive definition is needed. Such a definition—based on the organizational structure of reference books—is provided and defended. An empirical study was conducted in three libraries—academic, public, and special—to identify types of book organization and to determine their frequency in reference departments and stack collections. The definition was strongly supported by the data, and the contents of books were found to fall in a surprisingly small set of forms of organization, across the three types of libraries, across national boundaries, and through time.
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Papers by Marcia J. Bates