Modeling the usefulness of search results as measured by information use |
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| Institution: | 1. Tampere University, FIN-33014, Finland;2. Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Weimar 99423, Germany;3. Leipzig University, Leipzig 04109, Germany;4. Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle 06108, Germany;1. Department of Computer Science, University of Vigo, ESEI, Campus As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain;2. The Biomedical Research Centre (CINBIO), Campus Universitario Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain;3. SING Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Vigo, Spain;4. Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal;1. Faculty of Information Technology, Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, Hung Yen, Vietnam;2. School of Information Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa, 923-1292, Japan;3. Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam;4. AI Academy Vietnam, 489 Hoang Quoc Viet Rd, Hanoi, Vietnam;1. School of Computer Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China;2. Department of SEEM, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong;3. Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China;4. Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China;5. School of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, China |
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| Abstract: | The documents retrieved by a web search are useful if the information they contain contributes to some task or information need. To measure search result utility, studies have typically focused on perceived usefulness rather than on actual information use. We investigate the actual usefulness of search results—as indicated by their use as sources in an extensive writing task—and the factors that make a writer successful at retrieving useful sources. Our data comprise 150 essays written by 12 writers whose querying, clicking and writing activities were recorded. By tracking authors’ text reuse behavior, we quantify the search results’ contribution to the task more accurately than before. We model the overall utility of the search results retrieved throughout the writing process using path analysis, and compare a binary utility model (Reuse Events) to one that quantifies a degree of utility (Reuse Amount). The Reuse Events model has greater explanatory power (63% vs. 48%); in both models, the number of clicks is by far the strongest predictor of useful results—with β-coefficients up to 0.7—while dwell time has a negative effect (β between −0.14 and −0.21). As a conclusion, we propose a new measure of search result usefulness based on a source’s contribution to an evolving text. Our findings are valid for tasks where text reuse is allowed, but also have implications on designing indicators of search result usefulness for general writing tasks. |
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