A longitudinal, naturalistic study of information search & use behavior as implicit feedback for user model construction & maintenance

Abstract

A longitudinal, naturalistic study of the online information search and use behavior of seven users is being conducted during a four-month period to understand how behavior can be used as implicit sources of evidence for user model construction and maintenance. Users are provided with laptops and printers, and their activities are monitored with logging software, paper instruments and weekly interviews. The goal of the study is to develop methods for using online search and use behaviors to predict document usefulness in order to unobtrusively build and maintain a model of the user's interests.