Exploratory Search for Digital Humanities: A Feasibility Study

数字人文学科的研究依赖于可检索信息系统和数据库的发展。虽然数字人文学者进行的搜索类型本质上是复杂的，但内置在此类系统中的搜索界面是模仿简单的网络搜索界面。最近关于支持学术数字图书馆内复杂搜索任务的研究表明，通过搜索界面设计支持探索性搜索过程的价值。在这项拟议的研究中，我们将进行可行性研究，利用我们研究小组最近开发的搜索界面创新，在Europeana知识库中进行探索性搜索。这项研究包括与英国数字人文和信息行为领域的知名学者合作，并将产生可转移到加拿大数字人文档案的研究成果。

Digital humanities research relies on the development of searchable information systems and databases. While the types of searches that digital humanities scholars conduct are complex in nature, the search interfaces built into such systems are modelled after simple web search interfaces. Recent research on supporting complex search tasks within academic digital libraries has shown the value of supporting exploratory search processes via search interface design. In this proposed research, we will conduct a feasibility study of enabling exploratory search within the Europeana Repository using search interface innovations recently developed within our research group. This research includes collaboration with renowned scholars in digital humanities and information behaviour in the United Kingdom, and will produce research results that are transferrable to Canadian digital humanities archives.