Term relevance feedback and mediated database searching: implications for information retrieval practice and systems design

Results show that terms selected from particular database fields of retrieved items during term relevance feedback (TRF) were more effective than search terms from the intermediary, database thesauri or users' domain knowledge during the interaction, but not as effective as Terms from the users' written question statements.

Abstract

Research into both the algorithmic and human approaches to information retrieval is required to improve information retrieval system design and database searching effectiveness. This study uses the human approach to examine the sources and effectiveness of search terms selected during mediated interactive information retrieval. The study focuses on determining the retrieval effectiveness of search terms identified by users and intermediaries from retrieved items during term relevance feedback. Results show that terms selected from particular database fields of retrieved items during term relevance feedback (TRF) were more effective than search terms from the intermediary, database thesauri or users' domain knowledge during the interaction, but not as effective as terms from the users' written question statements. Implications for the design and testing of automatic relevance feedback techniques that place greater emphasis on these sources and the practice of database searching are also discussed.