TOPIC KNOWLEDGE AND ONLINE CATALOG SEARCH FORMULATION

This research investigated the ways in which different levels of knowledge about a topic can affect searching for information on that topic in a library online catalog. It was found that people with high levels of knowledge use more search expressions, including more general and nonproductive expressions, than low-knowledge users. It was also found that high-knowledge users employed more search expressions that had not been contained in their statements of information need than low-knowledge users. These differences in vocabulary use and search expression formulation may be of interest to designers of online catalogs as they attempt to increase the responsiveness of catalog systems to the needs of individual users. © 1991 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.