Spink A. (ed.) New Directions in Cognitive Information Retrieval

Springer, 2005, -250 p.This book brings together chapters that present a range of new directions in theories, models and ideas about cognitive information retrieval (CIR). The aim of the book has been to draw out and examine new directions in CIR research. CIR is conceptualized as complex human information related human computer interaction processes that are embedded within an individual’s everyday social and life context. CIR is an important part of the human information condition and critical to the development of new approaches to the design of Web and IR systems. Subsequently, CIR is an interdisciplinary area of study that includes research from information science, computer science, human factors, cognitive science, human computer interaction and other information related disciplines.
In this book we provide cutting edge interdisciplinary theories, models and directions in CIR research. The book does not provide a history of the field of CIR, but includes papers that represent potentially significant and new research into many aspects of human information behavior (HIB). Emerging frameworks, models and theories are providing a more complex view of CIR that includes multitasking, relevance feedback, HIB and visualization techniques, and longitudinal process models. In particular, the book includes papers by some outstanding and often less established researchers, and chapters that often challenge the established views and paradigms of CIR research. The final chapter of the book provides an initial integrated framework and an overview of the key trends, theories and models emerging in the field.
In this book, we focused on collecting papers that broaden and deepen the framework for our understanding of CIR. The editors invited authors to contribute chapters that represented emerging research directions and ideas, in an effort to build a framework that extends beyond existing models and research, and provide new directions for further research. The editors and chapter authors are drawn from the international boundaries of CIR research, and this international spread contributed greatly to the interdisciplinary nature of the chapters.
The book represents a major intellectual endeavor for the editors. The first editor (Spink) is an information scientist who has worked with, taught and has researched various dimensions of CIR since 1980. The second editor (Cole) is an information scientist who has worked with, taught and researched in various areas of CIR research since 1994. The editors have collaborated extensively over the last six years on researching CIR, including empirical and theoretical studies, journal and conference papers, and special journal issues.
The book is organized into five sections. Section I provides a brief introduction to the interdisciplinary field of CIR. Section II includes chapters that provide a discussion of key concepts for conceptualizing CIR, including relevance, cognitive, interactive and polyrepresentational approaches. Section III includes chapters that propose new approaches to the conceptualizing CIR processes within multitasking and HIB frameworks. Section IV includes chapters that discuss new CIR techniques, including relevance feedback, visualization and training frameworks. In Section V, the editors conclude the book by providing the range of new directions proposed in the chapters for further research.
Each section contains one or more chapters relating to the broader area of the section. Although each chapter is unique and comprehensive within its particular framework, and with its own reference list, the chapters are cross referenced where appropriate to illustrate how the different topics mesh together to form a broader expanse of CIR. This book is intended as a resource for CIR researchers, educators, and practitioners. Researchers and students in the fields of information science, computer science, cognitive science, human factors and related disciplines, and scholars investigating CIR will all find the chapters presented here a valuable source of new ideas to help and further their respective research horizons. This book is also an appropriate text for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level courses in areas of CIR and information science. Librarians, information professionals and others who provide information services will find this book useful for research-based insights into CIR. In addition, anyone who is interested in understanding the cognitive aspects of CIR will surely find this book a fascinating and enlightening read.I. Introduction
Introduction: New Directions in Cognitive Information Retrieval
II. CIR Concepts
Interactive Information Retrieval: Bringing the User to a Selection State
Cognitive Overlaps along the Polyrepresentation Continuum
Integrating Approaches to Relevance
New Cognitive Directions
III. CIR Processes
A Multitasking Framework for Cognitive Information Retrieval
Explanation in Information Seeking and Retrieval
Towards An Alternative Information Retrieval System for Children
IV. CIR Techniques
Implicit Feedback: Using Behavior to Infer Relevance
Educational Knowledge Domain Visualizations: Tools to Navigate, Understand, and Internalize the Structure of Scholarly Knowledge and Expertise
Learning and Training to Search
V. Conclusions
Conclusion and Further Research