Inquiry on intermediary elicitation styles: Quantitative and qualitative methods
Bulletin of the Library Association of China, (2003)Abstract
This research depicts the features of the intermediary's elicitation models. Thirty patrons with thirty genuine search questions and five intermediaries were involved in the study. Thirty patron intermediary information retrieval interactions were captured. Video/audio data were taped. Dialogues between patron and intermediary were transcribed. Quantitative as well as qualitative analysis were applied. Statistical analysis revealed three models of elicitation styles within the five intermediaries being identified, namely, (1) situational-oriented, (2) functional-oriented, and (3) stereotype. Qualitative analysis further specified three types of inquiring minds of intermediaries among thirty interactions: (1) information problem detection, (2) query formulation process, and (3) database instructions.