What XML-IR Users May Want

It is assumed that by focusing on retrieval at a granularity lower than documents that XML-IR systems will better satisfy users’ information need than traditional IR systems. Participates in INEX’s Ad-hoc track develop XMLIR systems based upon this assumption, using an evaluation methodology in the tradition of Cranfield. However, since the inception of INEX, debate has raged on how applicable some of the Ad-hoc tasks are to real user tasks. The purpose of the User-Case Studies track from to explore the application of XML-IR systems from the users’ perspective. This paper outlines QUT’s involvement in this task. For our involvement we conducted a user experiment using an XMLIR system (GPX) and three interfaces: a standard keyword interface, a natural language interface (NLPX) and a query-by-template interface (Bricks). Following the experiment we interviewed the users about their experience and asked them in comparison with a traditional XML-IR system what type of tasks would they use an XML-IR system for, what extra information they would need to interact with an XML-IR system and how would they want to see XML-IR results presented. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study will bring us closer to understanding what users want from XML-IR systems.