How can document-genre metadata improve information-access for large digital collections?

该项目寻求通过纳入有关文件体裁的元数据来改进大型数字收藏的信息获取系统。体裁元数据有助于信息的检索和使用。例如，人们很少需要阅读每个单词来理解文档的含义。相反，他们从识别他们面临的文档类型开始，然后以适当的方式使用不同类型的文档。例如，赠款提案的使用方式与教学大纲、产品手册或银行对账单不同。如果信息获取系统能够类似地区分文件的形式和目的(即它们的体裁)，那么它们将对许多任务更有用。这项研究包括一系列以人为中心的关于K-12教师信息使用的研究，以发展对体裁及其在信息使用中的作用的理解。在这些研究的基础上，研究人员开发了相关体裁的分类法，并确定了每种体裁的特征。这项研究包括开发和初步测试用于信息获取工具的体裁增强界面原型。这项研究提供了对文件体裁在基于信息的任务中的作用的理解，体裁元数据在提高用户在这些任务中的表现的效用水平的证据，以及研究体裁的方法的发展。研究的广泛影响包括体裁的可重复使用分类，加强研究的基础设施和教育领域的进步，无论是在研究的目标人群(K-12教师)中还是通过将学生纳入研究中。项目网站(http://crowston.syr.edu/genre/))提供了更多信息。

This project seeks to improve information-access systems for large digital collections by incorporating metadata about the documents' genres. Genre metadata facilitates information retrieval and use. For example, people rarely have to read every word to understand documents' meaning. Instead, they start by identifying the kinds of documents they are faced with, and then use different types of documents in appropriate ways. For example, a grant proposal is used differently from a syllabus, a product brochure or a bank statement. Information-access systems would be more useful for many tasks if they could similarly distinguish the form and purpose of documents (that is, their genres).The study includes a series of human-centered studies of information use by K-12 teachers to develop an understanding of genre and its role in information use. Based on these studies, the researchers develop a taxonomy of relevant genres and the features that identify each. The study includes the development and preliminary testing of genre-enhanced interface prototypes for information access tools. The study provides an understanding of the role of document genre in information-based tasks, evidence of the level of utility of genre metadata in improving user performance on those tasks and development of methods for studying genre.Broader impacts of the study include a reusable classification of genres, enhancing the infrastructure for research and advancement of the domain of education, both in the population targeted by the studies (K-12 teachers) and by including students in the research. The project Web site (http://crowston.syr.edu/genre/) provides access to more information.