You are granted permission for the non-commercial reproduction, distribution, display, and performance of this technical report in any format. However, this permission is only for a period of 45 (forty-five) days from the most recent time that you verified that this technical report is still available from the Department of Computer Science of the University of Maryland at College Park under terms that include this permission. All other rights are reserved by the author(s).
Extending User Understanding of Federal Statistics in Tables. Gary Marchionini. Carol Hert. Liz Liddy. Ben Shneiderman. May 2000.
This paper describes progress toward improving user interfaces for US Federal government statistics that are presented in tables. Based on studies of user behaviors and needs related to statistical tables, we describe interfaces to assist diverse users with a range of statistical literacy to explore, find, understand, and use US Federal government statistics. (HCIL-TR-2000-08) (Also cross-referenced UMIACS-TR-2000-24) University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland, Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, University of Maryland,
Interfaces and Tools for the Library of Congress National Digital. Gary Marchionini. Catherine Plaisant. Anita Komlodi. February 1998.
This paper describes a collaborative effort to explore user needs in a digital library, develop interface prototypes for a digital library, and suggest and prototype tools for digital librarians and users at the Library of Congress (LC). Interfaces were guided by an assessment of user needs and aimed to maximize interaction with primary resources and support both browsing and analytical search strategies. Tools to aid users and librarians in overviewing collections, previewing objects, and gatherin g results were created and serve as the beginnings of a digital librarian toolkit. The design process and results are described and suggestions for future work are offered. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-98-09) University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland,
Previews and Overviews in Digital Libraries: Designing Surrogates to. Stephan Greene. Gary Marchionini. Catherine Plaisant. Ben Shneiderman. September 1997.
To aid designers of digital library interfaces and web sites in creating comprehensible, predictable and controllable environments for their users, we define and discuss the benefits of previews and overviews as visual information representations. Previews and overviews are graphic or textual representations of information abstracted from primary information objects. They serve as surrogates for those objects. When utilized properly, previews and overviews allow users to rapidly discriminate objects of interest from those not of interest, and to more fully understand the scope and nature of large collections of information resources. We provide a more complete definition of previews and overviews, and discuss system parameters and aspects of primary information objects relevant to designing effective preview and overviews. Finally, we present examples that illustrate the use of previews and overviews and offer suggestions for designers. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-97-73) University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland,
Building an Electronic Learning Community: From Design to. Anne Rose. Wei Ding. Gary Marchionini. Josephus Beale, Jr.. Victor Nolet. September 1997.
The University of Maryland at College Park in cooperation with Baltimore City Public Schools and several partners is working to build an electronic learning community that provides teachers with multimedia resources that are linked to outcome-oriented curriculum guidelines. The initial resource library contains over 1000 videos, texts, images, web sites, and instructional modules. Using the current system, teachers can explore and search the resource library, create and present instructional modules in their classrooms, and communicate with other teachers in the community. This paper discusses the iterative design process and the results of informal usability testing. Lessons learned are also presented for developers. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-97-67 and as CLIS-TR-97-12) University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland,
Visualizing websites using a hierarchical table of contents browser:. David A. Nation. Catherine Plaisant. Gary Marchionini. Anita Komlodi. May 1997.
A method is described for visualizing the contents of a Web site with a hierarchical table of contents using a Java program and applet called WebTOC. The automatically generated expand/contract table of contents provides graphical information indicating the number of elements in branches of the hierarchy as well as individual and cumulative sizes. Color can be used to represent another attribute such as file type and provide a rich overview of the site for users and managers of the site. Early results from user studies suggest that WebTOC is easily learned and can assist users in navigating websites. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-97-41) University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland,
A Study on Video Browsing Strategies. Wei Ding. Gary Marchionini. August 1997.
Due to the unique characteristics of video, traditional surrogates and control/browsing mechanisms that facilitate text-based information retrieval may not work sufficiently for video. In this paper, a video browsing interface prototype with key frames and fast play-back mechanisms was built and tested. Subjects performed two kinds of browsing-related tasks: object identification and video comprehension under different display speeds (1 fps, 4 fps, 8 fps, 12 fps and 16 fps). It was found that browsing the key frames between 8 to 12 fps could potentially define a functional limit in object identificationaccuracy. There was no significant performance difference found across display speeds tested. The results also showed that lower speeds were required for object identification than for video comprehension. How user performance was affected by individual characteristics such as age, gender, academic background and TV- or movie-watching habits, was investigated, but no significant difference was found due to the limit of sample size and other constraints. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-97-40) (Also cross-referenced as CLIS-TR-97-06) University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Univ. of Maryland Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, Univ. of Maryland College of Library and Information Services,
Content + Connectivity = Community: Digital Resources for a Learning. Gary Marchionini. Victor Nolet. Hunter Williams. Wei Ding. Josephus Beale Jr.. Anne Rose. Allison Gordon. Ernestine Enomoto. Lynn Harbinson. January 1997.
Digital libraries offer new opportunities to provide access to diverse resources beyond those held in school buildings and to allow teachers and learners to reach beyond classroom walls to other people to build distributed learning communities. Creating learning communities requires that teachers change their behaviors and the Baltimore Learning Community Project described here is based on the premise that access to resources should be tied to the assessment outcomes that increasingly drive curricula and classroom activity. Based on examination of curriculum guides and discussions with project teachers, an interface for the BLC digital library was prototyped. Three components (explore, construct, and present) of this user interface that allows teachers to find text, video, images, web sites, and instructional modules and create their own modules are described. Although the technological challenges of building learning communities are significant, the greater challenges are mainly social and political. Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland,
Bringing Treasures to the Surface - Iterative Design for the Library of. Catherine Plaisant. Gary Marchionini. Tom Bruns. Anita Komlodi. Laura Campbell. October 1996.
The Human-Computer Interaction Lab worked with a team of the Library of Congress (LC) to develop and test interface designs for LCUs National Digital Library Program. Three iterations are described and illustrate the progression of the design toward a compact design that minimizes scrolling and jumping and anchors users in a screen space that tightly couples search and results. Issues and resolutions are discussed for each iteration and reflect the challenges of incomplete metadata, data visualization, and the rapidly changing web environment. Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, Univ. of Maryland, Digital Library Research Group, Univ. of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Maryland, National Digital Library Program, Library of Congress, Washington DC,
Douglas W. Oard. Gary Marchionini. May 1996.
A Conceptual Framework for Text Filtering Process. This report develops a conceptual framework for text filtering practice and research, and reviews present practice in the field. Text filtering is an information seeking process in which documents are selected from a dynamic text stream to satisfy a relatively stable and specific information need. A model of the information seeking process is introduced and specialized to define information filtering. The historical development of text filtering is then reviewed and case studies of recent work are used to highlight important design characteristics of modern text filtering systems. Specific techniques drawn from information retrieval, user modeling, machine learning and other related fields are described, and the report concludes with observations on the present state of the art and implications for future research on text filtering. (Also cross-referenced as CAR-TR-830) (Also cross-referenced as EE TR-96-25) (Also cross-referenced as CLIS TR-96-02) Electrical Engineering Department, Digital Library Research Group, Human Computer Interaction Laboratory, Center for Automation Research, Medical Informatics and Computational Intelligence Laboratory, College of Library and Information Services, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Maryland,
Gary Marchionini. Catherine Plaisant. Anita Komlodi. February 1996.
UserŐs Needs Assessment for the Library of CongressŐ National Digital Library. Understanding and assessing user needs is the first step in interface design, and this report is one of the first milestones in the overall design effort. This assessment provides an informed basis for the interface design and evaluation to be done in the months to come. It was prepared under the LibraryŐs contract with the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL) at the University of MarylandŐs to work together to design an interface for the LibraryŐs National Digital Library (NDL) Program. In order to determine user needs, HCIL conducted a survey of nine reading rooms with special emphasis on the Special Collections from which the content of the NDL will be drawn. HCIL also used questionnaires to reach remote audiences who may typify NDL users accessing the Library via the Internet. They also analyzed many of the documents available in the Reading Rooms, such as finding aids, other handouts, and user studies. Human Computer Interaction Laboratory, College of Library and Information Services, Univ. of Maryland, University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Maryland,
X. Wang. P. Liebscher. Gary Marchionini. January 1988.
Improving information seeking performance in hypertext: roles of display. Information systems support problem solving and decision making. Information seeking, a special case of problem solving, ranges from fact retrieval to ongoing self instruction. The research reported here looks at the effect of a system's human interface on fact retrieval in an electronic hypertext environment . Two experiments were conducted. The first looked at the effect, on user performance, of searching electronic versus paper versions of an encyclopedia. The second examined the effect of two distinct search strategies, index use and browsing, on subject performance in the electronic version of the same encyclopedia. In addition this experiment looked at the effect of previous computer/online searching experience on performance. Results indicate that subjects complete searches faster using paper, but that search success was the same for both print and electronic versions. Use of an index as a search strategy proved more efficient overall than a browse strategy in terms of search success and other dependent measures. However, superiority of the index strategy diminished over several searches and for some performance measured reversed, indicating a possible learning effect. Previous computer/online searching experience did not have a significant effect on subject performance. (Also cross-referenced as CAR-TR-353) Human Computer Interaction Laboratory, Center for Automation Research, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Maryland,
Last Generated Fri Aug 11 04:01:01 EDT 2000