The accurate formulation of boolean expressions is a notorious problem in programming languages and database query tools. This paper studies the ways that untrained users naturally express and interpret queries, revealing some of the underlying reasons why this task is so difficult. Among the study's findings are: people interpret the word AND to mean either conjunction or disjunction depending on context, the scope to which they attribute the word NOT depends on whether the subsequent operator is AND or OR, and they often ignore parenthesis. Therefore, relying on these words and symbols for query formulation will result in poor usability. A tabular query form is proposed that avoids the need to name the operators, provides a clear distinction between conjunction and disjunction, and makes

We have developed an in6 vative searchin terface that allowsnAOz5z ert users to move through large in97z86 tion spacesin a flexible manle without feelin lost. The design goal was to o#er users a "browsin the shelves" experien5 seamlessly in tegrated with focused search. Key to achievin our goal is the explicit exposure of hierarchical faceted metadatain a manz6 that is in tuitive an in vitin to users. After several iteration of design an testinA the usability results are strikinA] positive. We believe our approach marks a major step forward in search userin terfacesan can serve as a model for web-based collection of up to 100,000 items.

In this paper we describe Kaleidoquery, a visual query language for object databases with the same expressive power as OQL. We will describe the design philosophy behind the filter flow nature of Kaleidoquery and present each of the language's constructs, giving examples and relating them to OQL. The Kaleidoquery language is described independent of any implementation details, but a brief description of a 3D interface currently under construction for Kaleidoquery is presented. The queries in this implementation of the language are translated into OQL and then passed to the object database O2 for evaluation.

This paper introduces query devices, an extension to the widget concept. Query devices are graphical database interaction objects such as rangesliders and toggles. The design space of query devices is structured and it is shown how the design space can be explored so that consistent and distinguishable query devices are created. Existing query devices are placed in the design space and new ones suggested. A set of query devices aimed for dynamic queries systems is presented.

This paper describes the Kaleidoquery visual query language for object databases and its comparative evaluation with OQL. The design philosophy behind the filter flow nature of Kaleidoquery and each of the language's constructs is described, and examples are given that allow comparisons to be made with OQL. This is followed by a description of an experiment with the Kaleidoquery and OQL languages. Two groups of subjects, programmers and non-programmers, were taught aspects of OQL and Kaleidoquery, and then tested under experimental conditions. Results show that both groups answered significantly more correct queries using certain constructs of the Kaleidoquery language. 1 Introduction Kaleidoquery is a visual query language for object databases, the main design objectives for which were: ffl to build a comprehensive visual query language for an object database, ffl with compliance to current standards, ffl while alleviating previously identified problems noted in query language ev...

This paper describes a quantitative study focused on two questions: (1) Can children understand and use a hierarchical domain structure to find particular instances of animals? (2) Can children construct search queries to conduct complex searches if sufficiently supported, both visually and conceptually? These two questions have been explored in the context of developing a digital library interface (called "QueryKids") for children ages 5-10 years old that visualizes the querying process and its results. The results of this study showed that children were able to search very efficiently, primarily using a "fewest-steps" strategy, with the QueryKids software prototype. In addition, children were able to construct search queries with a high degree of accuracy. Results are discussed in terms of the scaffolding support that QueryKids provides, and its effectiveness in helping children to search efficiently and construct complex search queries. Keywords Children, information retrieval, di...

Existing research has shown that naive users find it difficult to correctly express queries using the standard Boolean connectives AND, OR, and NOT. We conducted an empirical study examining the query production performance of naive users on four different systems: One of these systems was non-procedural textual (Boolean connectives); another was procedural textual (If-Then-Else), another non-procedural graphical (based on Venn diagrams), and the last was procedural graphical (Filter-Flow). We found significant differences in both the accuracy and speed of users' query production based on the underlying Boolean forms of the queries they were required to generate. User performance in accuracy and speed was highest for the system using Boolean connectives, followed by Venn, Filter-Flow, and then IfThen -Else. No overall speed/accuracy tradeoff was observed. However, interactions were discovered amongst the factors of Boolean form, procedurality, and text vs. graphics...

Kaleidoscape is a three dimensional (3D) implementation of a data-flow oriented visual query language, which has been implemented in 3D to examine the advantages and disadvantages of such an interface paradigm over current WIMP GUIs. This paper describes a version of Kaleidoscape that allows the user to construct queries from within a 3D environment. These queries are then translated into the ODMG standard textual query language OQL for evaluation, the results of which can be viewed and browsed from within the Kaleidoscape environment. Keywords visual query language, 3D, OQL, ODMG, results visualisation 1 INTRODUCTION Kaleidoquery (Murray, Paton & Goble 1998) is a visual query language for ODMG (Object Data Management Group) compliant object databases (Cattell et al. 1997). Queries created with Kaleidoquery can be translated into ODMG version 2.0 Object Query Language (OQL). This allows implementations of Kaleidoquery to be used with any object database that conforms to the ODMG stan...

visual retrieval model

A wide variety of information is now available in electronic form. As the diversity of information continues to increase, the number of programs required to utilize a broad range of sources grows proportionately. This situation gives rise to at least two serious drawbacks. First, use of a large repertoire of information sources requires an ever increasing set of skills that are difficult and time consuming to acquire. Second, comparison of information from different sources is awkward or impractical at best, and is often impossible to automate within the scope of the given tools. Even when comparison facilities are provided, reconciling the vector space and hypermedia models of information retrieval for the purposes of comparison has proven to be a considerable challenge. This proposal describes a general interaction framework and a prototype design derived from the framework that together address these concerns. A hybrid organizational model is adopted that combines weighted attribute...