Write While You Search : Ambient Searching of a Digital Library in the Context of Writing Anatoliy Gruzd, [email_address] Michael Twidale, [email_address] “ The more research you do, the more impossible it is to start writing” -Peter Elbow DL-CUBA 2006

Conventional order of research-related activities Searching for the information Organizing, analyzing, systematizing, synthesizing, planning the report Writing the report

Searching for the information

Organizing, analyzing, systematizing, synthesizing, planning the report

Writing the report

Main problems associated with the ‘ conventional order’ Research Paralysis & Writing Procrastination

Benefits of writing at the early stages of one’s research Write While You Search (WWYS) approach is more productive than Write After Search (Nelson & Hayes, 1988) Writing-to-learn theories, e.g. Theory of discovery (Galbraith, 1992) Knowledge transforming model (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987)

Write While You Search (WWYS) approach is more productive than Write After Search (Nelson & Hayes, 1988)

Writing-to-learn theories, e.g.

Theory of discovery (Galbraith, 1992)

Knowledge transforming model (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987)

Using computer technologies to help writing Will technologies be able to move users over to the more productive Write While You Search ( WWYS ) approach? Can we enable a tighter integration of searching, planning and writing functionalities?

Will technologies be able to move users over to the more productive Write While You Search ( WWYS ) approach?

Can we enable a tighter integration of searching, planning and writing functionalities?

Personal Information Research Assistant (PIRA) http://pira.isrl.uiuc.edu/

The usefulness of a PIRA / WWYS approach may depend on A type of research/writing User’s proficiency in research skills User’s preferences in writing/searching behavior User’s cognitive overload focused attention divided attention

A type of research/writing

User’s proficiency in research skills

User’s preferences in writing/searching behavior

User’s cognitive overload

focused attention

divided attention

Future work System design Reduce the degree of disruption e.g. update results when a user stop typing (Adamczyk, 2004) Use of multiple digital libraries Generate a search query based on semantic passages vs. discourse (paragraph) passages Integrate with bibliographic management tools

System design

Reduce the degree of disruption

e.g. update results when a user stop typing (Adamczyk, 2004)

Use of multiple digital libraries

Generate a search query based on semantic passages vs. discourse (paragraph) passages

Integrate with bibliographic management tools

Future work (cont.) User study Observation vs. Controlled experiment Formative vs. Summative Evaluation Variables Distractibility Informativeness Productivity / Time Paper quality Time constraints Writer’s major / research area Expert vs. novice Dependent Independent

User study

Observation vs. Controlled experiment

Formative vs. Summative Evaluation

Variables

Distractibility

Informativeness

Productivity / Time

Paper quality

Time constraints

Writer’s major / research area

Expert vs. novice

References Adamczyk, P.D. & Bailey, B.P. If Not Now, When?: The Effects of Interruption at Different Moments Within Task Execution. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems , (Vienna, Austria, 2004), ACM Press, 271-278. Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. The psychology of written composition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1987. Elbow, P. Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Galbraith, D. Conditions for discovery through writing. Instructional Science 21 , 1 - 3 (1992), 45-71. Nelson, J. & Hayes, J.R. How the Writing Context Shapes College Students' Strategies for Writing from Sources. (Technical Report No. 16). Berkeley, CA: Center for the Study of Writing, UC Berkeley, 1988.

Adamczyk, P.D. & Bailey, B.P. If Not Now, When?: The Effects of Interruption at Different Moments Within Task Execution. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems , (Vienna, Austria, 2004), ACM Press, 271-278.

Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. The psychology of written composition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1987.

Elbow, P. Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Galbraith, D. Conditions for discovery through writing. Instructional Science 21 , 1 - 3 (1992), 45-71.

Nelson, J. & Hayes, J.R. How the Writing Context Shapes College Students' Strategies for Writing from Sources. (Technical Report No. 16). Berkeley, CA: Center for the Study of Writing, UC Berkeley, 1988.