Exploratory Search: Beyond the Query-Response Paradigm - Leitura de Livro I

Exploratory Search: Beyond the Query-Response Paradigm
Ryen W. White and Resa A. Roth
Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services, 2009, Vol. 1, No. 1 , Pages 1-98
(https://doi.org/10.2200/S00174ED1V01Y200901ICR003) 

Abstract

Exploratory search describes an information-seeking problem context that is open-ended, persistent, and multifaceted, and information-seeking processes that are opportunistic, iterative, and multitactical. Exploratory searchers aim to solve complex problems and develop enhanced mental capacities. Exploratory search systems support this through symbiotic human–machine relationships that provide guidance in exploring unfamiliar information landscapes.

[Desenvolver capacidades mentais: comparar fontes, identificar a coocorrência temporal e espacial de eventos, associar eventos distintos com assuntos em comum]

Preface

Exploratory search has emerged as an important research area with a focus on understanding and supporting searches that may result from ill-defined information needs, require explorative search strategies, or have personal development as a primary objective. The goal of exploratory search is to foster learning and investigation by capitalizing on innate human curiosities, moving beyond traditional information finding.

Introduction

Our desire to consume information exists in tension with how we should use it for our benefit.

The predominant retrieval paradigm these systems use is “query and response,” where queries are issued by the user, and a set of potentially relevant items are offered in response. However, to develop complex intellectual skills, this lookup-based approach is insufficient; it yields only candidate starting points for learning, not the complete set of items required for significant cognitive development.

[Look up não atende totalmente a apredizado]

Information overload has become a significant problem for many of us, especially given our seemingly insatiable thirst for knowledge:

What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.

To reduce the challenges posed by information overload, information filtering tools such as recommender systems, use a personalized (social/collaborative) profile to remove redundant or unwanted information from information streams.

[O filtro acaba nos expondo somente a aquilo que nos deixa dentro da nossa zona de conforto]

One emerging class of information seeking—known as exploratory search—requires search systems to help users clarify vague information needs, learn from exposure to information in document collections, and investigate solutions to information problems. Systems supporting exploratory search facilitate intellectual growth and long-term personal/professional development, as well as task completion and user satisfaction.

 

Research on implicit feedback has shown that interaction behavior (mainly document retention activities such as saving, bookmarking, and printing, as well as search engine result page click-through) can be used to build enhanced representations of information needs for use in query refinement or future retrieval.

[Feedback implícito é mais efetivo para ser coletado]

In exploratory search, people usually submit a tentative query to navigate proximal to relevant documents in the collection, then explore the environment to better understand how to exploit it, selectively seeking and passively obtaining cues about their next steps.

[Cada consulta é uma tentativa de aproximação do alvo]

Exploratory search systems (ESSs) capitalize on new technological capabilities and interface paradigms that facilitate an increased level of interaction with search systems.

Examples of ESSs include information visualization systems, document clustering and browsing systems, and intelligent content summarization systems. ESSs go beyond returning a single document or answer in response to a query and instead aim to instigate significant cognitive change through learning and improved understanding.

Chapter 5 discusses issues around the evaluation of ESSs, in particular what researchers should consider when planning ESS evaluation,

Defining Exploratory Search

Although there may be circumstances where exploratory strategies are used continually to allow people to discover new associations, kinds of knowledge, and decision making, they are often motivated by a complex information problem, a poor understanding of terminology and information space structure, and a desire to learn. ... We first focus on two important elements: the problem context and the search process and then combine them in a model of exploratory search.

[Conhecer pouco sobre o domínio e sobre como as informações estão estruturadas]

Once a person has acquired information and internalized it, such that they understand its meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation, they may then apply that knowledge in new domains and pursue higher-order learning activities such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation

As suggested earlier, exploratory search can describe either the problem context that motivates the search or the process by which the search is conducted ...

Exploratory search covers a broader class of search activities than traditional IR and IIR, which targets query-document matching under the assumption that relevant information exists and that a well-formed query statement will retrieve it from the collection.

[Nem sempre a informação existe, a lacuna de conhecimento pode não ser somente da pessoa e sim do "mundo".]

[A consulta perfeita para recuperar uma informação está mais alinhada como conteúdo da informação armazenada do que com a forma como quem tem a necessidade de informação a expressa.]

People engaged in exploratory searches are generally: (1) unfamiliar with the domain of their goal (i.e., need to learn about the topic in order to understand how to achieve their goal); (2) unsure about the ways to achieve their goals (either the technology or the process); and/or even (3) unsure about their goals.

Growing uncertainty is also an important part of exploratory search. The creativity, innovation, and knowledge discovery that is often necessary as part of exploratory searches requires traveling beyond what is known by the user. In a similar way to research practice, exploratory search involves original thought, lateral thinking, and serendipity.

2.1 PROBLEM CONTEXT

Searches are often motivated by an incompleteness or a “problematic situation” in the mind of the searcher that develops into a desire for information. When a search begins, a searcher’s state of knowledge is in an “anomalous state,” and they have a gap between what they know and want to know. The gap is a situation-driven phenomenon, known as their information need. Exploratory searches may also be driven by curiosity or a desire for personal development; a user may only wish to learn more about a particular subject area to increase their knowledge rather than solve an information problem.

The problem context in exploratory search is ill-structured, and users require additional information from external sources to clarify their goals and actions...

These are areas where exploratory search systems can help users develop an improved knowledge of the task environment and, hence, facilitate more effective search task selection.

During exploratory searches, it is likely that the problem context will become better understood by the searcher, allowing them to make more informed decisions about interaction or information use.

[Aprender sobre o problema ao buscar a solução]

As the information need evolves, the searcher’s ability to articulate query statements and identify relevant information increases based on their improved level of problem comprehension. 

The learning associated with exploratory search systems is subtly different. Rather than searching to close a gap in one’s knowledge (where the gap may be known or its presence at least identified to the user at the outset of the search), the goal in exploratory searches may be less clearly defined; learning in exploratory search is not only about knowledge acquisition, but rather the development of higher-level intellectual capabilities within a particular subject area (e.g., application, synthesis, evaluation). The purpose of exploratory search is typically to create a knowledge product (e.g., a research paper) or shape an action (e.g., choosing a medical treatment ...

[Não é o gap de conhecimento que motivou a busca??? Não somente, também se aprende habilidades para lidar com a informação.]

2.2 SEARCH PROCESS

Learning searches involve multiple query iterations and return sets of items that require cognitive processing and interpretation. Much of the search time in learning tasks is devoted to examining and comparing results, as well as reformulating queries to discover the boundaries of key concept definitions. Learning search tasks are best suited to combinations of browsing and analytical strategies, with lookup searches embedded to locate the correct neighborhood for browsing.

Systems tailored to supporting exploratory search processes should help instigate significant cognitive change and user development. This can only result from an extended learning process spanning multiple queries or search sessions rather than a single result or set of results offered by a system in response to a user’s query.

For example, exploratory searchers may exhibit a behavior akin to “wayfinding” (a concept borrowed from urban planning;  where they naïvely traverse the information landscape with no prior knowledge of the whereabouts of the information target, if a target exists. Wayfinding tasks generally require the navigator be able to conceptualize the space as a whole. ... Therefore, wayfinding assistance requires support for both exhaustive and directed searches and must facilitate topological knowledge acquisition (i.e., help users learn about the location of information objects and paths through the information space).

[Seria semelhante a navegar por um grafo]

Serendipitous browsing stimulates analogical thinking, and users can relate their experiences to other comparable situations.

[Comparar afirmações com contextos iguais ou próximos]

However, exploratory search requires human participation in a continuous and exploratory process. This may involve the application of dynamic query filters to adjust the result presentation in real time, dramatic evolution of information needs over the course of the search, and fundamental shifts in understanding.

[Recuperar os items e depois permitir os filtros na interface. Isso pode ter problema de desempenho.]

2.3 MODELING EXPLORATORY SEARCH BEHAVIOR

There are two main activities that reside in an exploratory search episode: exploratory browsing and focused searching. Exploratory browsing exposes users to collection content to help relate the problem context to similar documented experiences and promote information discovery. Focused searching may include some degree of navigation, but is generally intended to help the user follow a known or expected trail rather than forging new ground. Effective exploratory search systems will maintain a balance between analytical and browsing activities and support a symbiotic search relationship between searcher and system.

2.3.1 Exploratory Browsing

Browsing is defined as movement in a connected space ....

[KG como afirmações contextualizadas S e conectadas pelas entidades V e também pelo contexto C]

Browsing may be a hypothesis-generation activity, whereby hypotheses are generated about the causes of observed phenomena or the best ways to resolve an information problem. During hypothesis generation, users will visit multiple documents to better understand what information is available and familiarize themselves with the topic.

[Accesso a informação antes mesmo de ter uma hipótese formulada, por exemplo, em uma revisão sistemática]

2.3.2 Focused Searching

In focused search, people query the document collection, examine search results and documents in close proximity to search results, and extract relevant information to meet their goals. Searchers engaged in focused search may require analytical support for query specification and refinement, and for the selection of search results and postquery navigation paths. During focused searching, the user may have a clear sense of their information goals and the trails to follow to attain them. Searchers also may test the hypotheses generated during the hypotheses-generation activity of exploratory browsing.

Initially, users are likely to explore the space and better define and understand their problem. As they explore, their perceptions of the problem may fluctuate dramatically. During this period, the problem context and the exploratory browsing behavior are highly dynamic. In this stage, the problem is limited, labeled, and a framework for the answer is defined. In exploratory searches, the answer framework may be more uncertain and require more definition over the course of the search. Over time, the problem becomes better defined, and the user is able to conduct targeted searches involving automatic search systems. It is worth noting that the problem can also become more confusing or challenging as the search progresses (e.g., the more we learn about the topic, especially if we are novices in the domain, the more confused/overwhelmed we may get). In the focused search phase, users (re)formulate query statements, examine search results, and extract and synthesize relevant information.

The elucidation of vague information needs and the resultant reduction in uncertainty is one of the defining characteristics of exploratory searches. ... The reduction in the uncertainty of the problem situation results from changes in knowledge state; as users become more knowledgeable about the subject matter, they can construct well-formed query statements and need to browse less.

In the exploratory search strategy, searchers visit more of the information space, and many search targets may be present, each coresponding to an aspect of the task. Within exploration, there may be some degree of progressive narrowing as part of the exploration-enrichment-exploration trade-off.

Exploratory searches may also seek the discovery of gaps in existing knowledge so that new research ground can be forged or unpromising directions can be avoided. For example, Garfield (1970) proposed the notion of a “negative search,” where the failure to retrieve results for a search query may actually be a positive outcome if the goal is to propose a new solution or a new problem, as is common practice in the scientific community.

[Ferramentas de busca como o Google na grande maioria das vezes retornam alguma informação mesmo que as palavras da query não façam sentido juntas]

2.4 DIFFERENTIATING EXPLORATORY SEARCH

The following are attributes of exploratory search that differentiate it from other types of information seeking and related disciplines:

1. Exploratory search sessions can transcend multiple query iterations and potentially multiple search sessions. An exploratory search can last for days, weeks, or months depending on the nature of the search task ... It is important that exploratory search systems support searches over time. Examples of this type of support include session memory features that store recent queries and long-term user histories that retain information on user preferences and searches over many search sessions.

[Várias consultas, com ou sem mater estado]

2. The information need that motivates an exploratory search is generally open-ended, persistent, and multifaceted. Open-endedness relates to uncertainty over the information available, or incomplete information on the nature of the search task.

[Não existe repostas certa para busca exploratória]

3. The goal of the search extends beyond simply locating information toward activities associated with learning and understanding. That is, the search task does not exist in isolation from the surrounding task context. Not only does the context influence the performance of the task, but it also influences what action should be taken with the found information.

[É influenciada pela tarefa onde a informação será usada]

4. The interaction behaviors observed during an exploratory search are generally a combination of browsing and focused searching, with more emphasis on the former. People use browsing as a way to resolve the uncertainty and confusion that can occur as new information is encountered.

[Navegação nos dados para entender os mesmos e o escopo da busca]

5. Exploratory searches may involve the collaboration of multiple people in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. Given the strong relationship between exploratory search and information use and information understanding, it is likely that these searches will involve engagement with other people during the search. These people may be involved in the specification of the goals that drive the task (information need creators) and are therefore interested in the task outcomes (e.g., a manager). Also, people may be involved in the completion of the task (e.g., friends planning a vacation or coworkers working toward a shared goal).

[Quem busca colabora com quem constrói e mantém o KG]

The evaluation of systems to support exploratory search requires a methodology that targets learning and insights, as well as task outcomes and system utility. To determine how well systems support exploratory search activites, they must be evaluated in terms of their ability to facilitate the key elements of search exploration (e.g., helping users obtain new insights, assisting learning, offering support for critical decision making).

[Como avaliar sistemas que apoiam busca exploratória?]