The impact of task complexity on people’s mental models of MedlinePlus

• Published in: Information processing & management Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 107 - 119
• Main Author: Zhang, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 2012; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Cognition & reasoning; Consumer health information; Consumer health information systems; Data processing; Descriptions; Emotions; Exact sciences and technology; Information and communication sciences; Information processing and retrieval; Information retrieval; Information retrieval systems. Information and document management system; Information retrieval. Man machine relationship; Information science. Documentation; MedlinePlus; Mental models; Online information retrieval; Perception; Perceptions; Research process. Evaluation; Sciences and techniques of general use; Searches; Searching; Strategy; Studies; Task complexity; Task impact; Tasks; User behaviour; Information retrieval; Mental models; Task complexity; Task impact; MedlinePlus; Consumer health information systems; Information system; Biomedical information
• ISSN: 0306-4573; 1873-5371
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ipm.2011.02.007

► Task complexity affects people’s representations and evaluations of IR systems. ► Task complexity affects people’s pragmatic knowledge of using IR systems. ► Concept listing method is efficient and effective in eliciting mental models. This study explored the impact of task complexity on people’s mental models of MedlinePlus, an information-rich web space providing consumer health information to the general public. Thirty-eight subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, performing either simple or complex search tasks. After the search session, subjects’ perceptions of MedlinePlus were elicited using a concept listing protocol where subjects listed concepts concerning MedlinePlus in the order each concept occurred to them. The analysis of the concepts suggested that task complexity impacted subjects’ mental models by influencing the objects in the system that they perceived and represented, the specificity of the representations, their evaluations of and emotions about the objects, and the heuristics that they developed for what works and what does not in the system. The pragmatic aspect of mental models was represented by subjects’ descriptions of the steps that they would follow to tackle a hypothetical task. The analysis showed that task complexity affected the strategies that subjects perceived themselves using to solve new tasks using the system.