Reducing Indeterminism in Consultation: A Cognitive Model of User/Librarian Interactions

18 Pages Posted: 31 Oct 2008

See all articles by Hsinchun Chen

Hsinchun Chen

University of Arizona - Department of Management Information Systems

Vasant Dhar

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business; New York University (NYU) - Department of Information, Operations, and Management Sciences

Date Written: June 1987

Abstract

In information facilities such as libraries, finding documents that are relevant to a user query isdifficult because of the indeterminism involved in the process by which documents are indexed,and the latitude users have in choosing terms to express a query on a particular topic. Referencelibrarians play an important support role in coping with this indeterminism, focusing user queriesthrough an interactive dialog. Based on thirty detailed observations of user/librarian interactionsobtained through a field experiment, we have developed a computational model designed to simulatethe reference librarian. The consultation includes two phases. The first is handle search,where the user's rough problem statement and a user stereotyping imposed by the librarian areused in determining the appropriate tools (handles). The second phase is document search, involvingthe search for documents within a chosen handle. We are collaborating with the universitylibrary for putting our model to use as an intelligent assistant for an online retrieval system.

Suggested Citation

Chen, Hsinchun and Dhar, Vasant, Reducing Indeterminism in Consultation: A Cognitive Model of User/Librarian Interactions (June 1987). NYU Working Paper No. IS-87-60, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1289751

Hsinchun Chen (Contact Author)

University of Arizona - Department of Management Information Systems ( email )

AZ
United States

Vasant Dhar

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business ( email )

44 West 4th Street
Suite 9-160
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.stern.nyu.edu/~vdhar

New York University (NYU) - Department of Information, Operations, and Management Sciences

44 West Fourth Street
New York, NY 10012
United States

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