Intelligent information retrieval: Part IV. Testing the timing of two information retrieval devices in a naturalistic setting

This article is Part IV in a series of articles that report the results of a two year research program the purpose of which is to design and test intelligent information retrieval (TR) devices for undergraduates researching a social science term paper. The devices are task-facilitating, helping the undergraduate perform the task of researching and writing a term paper, and they provide a mold which takes the students' amorphous conception of their information need, turning it into an effective query to the IR system. The present article reports the results of two studies which tested an uncertainty expansion IR device and an uncertainty reduction IR device in naturalistic settings. The devices are designed to be given at different stages of Kuhlthau's information search process (ISP), In both studies, undergraduates were randomly assigned to either the test group, who received the device intervention, or a comparison group. In Study 1, we found that the comparison group received a higher mean mark than students in the uncertainty expansion group. In Study 2, we found that the uncertainty reduction group received a higher mean mark than the comparison group when the device was given later in the student's ISP, We conclude that the timing of the device interventions is crucial to their potential efficacy. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.