Information seeking is a fundamental human activity. In the modern world, it is frequently conducted through interactions with search systems. The retrieval and comprehension of information returned by these systems is a key part of decision making and action in a broad range of settings. Advances in data availability coupled with new interaction paradigms, and mobile and cloud computing capabilities, have created a broad range of new opportunities for information access and use. In this comprehensive book for professionals, researchers, and students involved in search system design and evaluation, search expert Ryen White discusses how search systems can capitalize on new capabilities and how next-generation systems must support higher order search activities such as task completion, learning, and decision making. He outlines the implications of these changes for the evolution of search evaluation, as well as challenges that extend beyond search systems in areas such as privacy and societal benefit.

This book describes advances in technology, data availability, and searcher expectations around next-generation search engines.

This lecture presents an overview of the Web analytics process, with a focus on providing insight and actionable outcomes from collecting and analyzing Internet data. The lecture first provides an overview of Web analytics, providing in essence, a condensed version of the entire lecture. The lecture then outlines the theoretical and methodological foundations of Web analytics in order to make obvious the strengths and shortcomings of Web analytics as an approach. These foundational elements include the psychological basis in behaviorism and methodological underpinning of trace data as an empirical method. These foundational elements are illuminated further through a brief history of Web analytics from the original transaction log studies in the 1960s through the information science investigations of library systems to the focus on Websites, systems, and applications. Following a discussion of on-going interaction data within the clickstream created using log files and page tagging for analytics of Website and search logs, the lecture then presents a Web analytic process to convert these basic data to meaningful key performance indicators in order to measure likely converts that are tailored to the organizational goals or potential opportunities. Supplementary data collection techniques are addressed, including surveys and laboratory studies. The overall goal of this lecture is to provide implementable information and a methodology for understanding Web analytics in order to improve Web systems, increase customer satisfaction, and target revenue through effective analysis of user–Website interactions. Table of Contents: Understanding Web Analytics / The Foundations of Web Analytics: Theory and Methods / The History of Web Analytics / Data Collection for Web Analytics / Web Analytics Fundamentals / Web Analytics Strategy / Web Analytics as Competitive Intelligence / Supplementary Methods for Augmenting Web Analytics / Search Log Analytics / Conclusion / Key Terms / Blogs for Further Reading / References

Search engines have become a key part of our everyday lives. Yet while much has been written about how to use search engines and how they can be improved, there has been comparatively little exploration of what the social and cultural effects might be. Like all technologies, search engines exist within a larger political, cultural, and economic environment. This volume aims to redress this balance and to address crucial questions such as: * How have search engines changed the way we organize our thoughts about the world, and how we work? * What are the ‘search engine wars', what do they portend for the future of search, and who wins or loses? * To what extent does political control of search engines, or the political influence of search engines, affect how they are used, misused, and regulated? * Does the search engine help shape our identities and interactions with others, and what implications does this have for privacy? Informed members of the information society must understand the social contexts in which search engines have been developed, what that development says about us as a society, and the role of the search engine in the global information environment. This book provides the perfect starting point.

Inspired by the research and theory of Robert Freed Bales (Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Harvard University), this collection of research and applications using SYMLOG, a system for the multi-level observation of groups, provides the most recent examples of analyzing aspects of social interaction systems. The collection shows the relationship of SYMLOG to other theoretical models, gives examples of international research, includes applications in health, education, religion, and policy analysis, and illustrates problems and solutions regarding the validity and reliability of the method. The editors provide the widest selection of articles on SYMLOG, covering theory, research, and applications in organizational development and other fields.

Improvements in the application of online learning technologies are continually on the rise as the expectation for individuals to obtain a higher education grows and more people are seeking alternative modes of education. As more institutions implement e-learning systems, it has become increasingly important to explore the advancements and obstacles of these technologies. The Handbook of Research on Estimation and Control Techniques in E-Learning Systems presents the latest research in online learning and educational technologies for a diverse range of students and educational environments. Featuring comprehensive coverage on the implementation and usage of e-education systems, this publication explores a variety of pertinent topics including, but not limited to, ubiquitous computer technology, e-learning environments, and challenges in implementing these technologies, serving as a crucial reference source for researchers, professionals, academicians, students, government officials, and technology developers interested in the adoption and implementation of e-learning systems.

This book brings together results from the Web search studies we conducted from 1997 through 2004. The aim of our studies has been twofold: to examine how the public at large searches the Web and to highlight trends in public Web searching. The eight-year period from 1997 to 2004 saw the beginnings and maturity of public Web searching. Commercial Web search engines have come and gone, or endured, through the fall of the dot.com companies. We saw the rise and, in some cases, the demise of several high profile, publicly available Web search engines. The study of the Web search is an exciting and important area of interdisciplinary research. Our book provides a valuable insight into the growth and development of human interaction with Web search engines. In this book, our focus is on the human aspect of the interaction between user and Web search engine. We do not investigate the Web search engines themselves or their constantly changing interfaces, algorithms and features. We focus on exploring the cognitive and user aspects of public Web searching in the aggregate. We use a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods within the overall methodology known as transaction log analysis.