Evidence Summary
Mental Model Construction in MedlinePlus
Information Searching Involves Changes and Developments in Cognition, Emotion,
and Behaviour
A Review of:
Zhang, Y. (2013). The development of users' mental
models of MedlinePlus in information searching.
Library & Information Science Research, 35(2), 159-170. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2012.11.004
Reviewed by:
Antonio DeRosa
Reference Librarian
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States of America
Email: derosaa1@mskcc.org
Received: 6 Aug. 2013 Accepted: 11 Oct.
2013
2013 DeRosa.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons‐Attribution‐Noncommercial‐Share Alike License 2.5 Canada (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by‐nc‐sa/2.5/ca/), which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work
is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and, if transformed,
the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this
one.
Abstract
Objectives – To explore the
construction of mental models as a dynamic process and how users understand a
consumer health information system, MedlinePlus,
during a search session.
Design – Face-to-face interview.
Setting – Large university.
Subjects – A total of 38 undergraduate students participated
in the study. All majoring in non-medical fields, such as art
history, psychology, business, and communication studies.
Methods – Participants were randomized into two groups: the
simple task group and the complex task group. Simple task group members were
asked to perform 12 simple tasks while the complex group members performed
three more-involved tasks. Simple tasks were defined as succinct questions with
finite answers while complex tasks were open-ended and required more cognitive
activity and synthesizing on the part of the individual. Participants in both
groups were then given four simple tasks and two complex tasks to perform. Data
was derived by video recording search sessions with individuals and
interview-like questions for the tasks performed. Participants were given a
brief introduction to the search session design and sessions took place in a
private lab. Since the aim of the study was to track participants’ mental
modeling processes over time, coding of data was caught at three different
times throughout the search sessions: T1 (MM1) after five minutes of
free exploration, T2 (MM2) after the first search session, and T3
(MM3) after the second search session.
Main Results – The author discusses the demographic specifics of
the population participating in the study. Although participants were split
into two groups, the results were combined to be more meaningful. Out of the 38
participants, 20 were female and 18 were male with ages ranging from 18 to 22.
They had, on average, 10 years of computer experience and their average spatial
ability score was 12.71. Also on average, they spent about 20 minutes
completing the first search session and 12 minutes completing the second search
session. The results show that participant-developed mental models of the MedlinePlus web space can be clustered into the following
five theoretical components (this information is quantified in tables
throughout the paper): system, content, information organization, interface,
and procedural knowledge.
Conclusion – The study allowed participants to articulate their
mental models and representations while conducting predefined searches during
private sessions using MedlinePlus. The study also
illustrates how users’ mental models of a system developed during interactions
with an online system, on a theoretical level. Little is actually known about
how mental models are developed when users interact with an information system.
The study serves to explore this arena and reveals that the mental model
construction involves changes and developments in three parallel dimensions:
cognition, emotion, and behaviour. Also, these
dimensions are accompanied by three mental activities: assimilating new
concepts, phasing out previously perceived concepts, and modifying existing
concepts. The mental model construction process could be a useful tool to build
user models and make better design decisions for information systems.
Commentary
The aim of the study
was to better understand how a set of users establish mental models while
searching an online information resource, namely MedlinePlus.
Participants were randomly assigned into two groups and asked to perform a
series of tasks (different task-types for each group). Although results were
recorded in a regimented manner, it is difficult to tell whether or not the
population chosen is free of bias. Also, there is no discussion of
inclusion/exclusion of participants or individual session results in the paper,
if any.
The author does not
clarify exactly how the face-to-face interviews were conducted. For instance,
were there other observers in the room while the sessions were taking place? If
so, the author must ensure that the possibility of observer bias was reduced.
Perhaps one of the most important omissions is that the author does not supply
the questionnaire or instrument used to review and capture the responses during
the task-performing sessions in the study.
The author clearly
defines her step-by-step process for conducting the study. The methodology is
well laid out and has potential to be reproduced by other investigators, even
without the actual questions asked during the sessions. The results of the
study are effectively outlined as they pertain to the design and data
collection processes. From beginning to end, there is a clear path that the
investigator has taken to perform the study.
This research shows
the need for information professionals to better understand mental models: what
they are, how users create them, and how they are used to more fluidly navigate
a database or other online information system. Further consideration of mental
models can help database and web developers make more informed decisions about
the designs of their interfaces and hierarchy of their content, which can aide
in producing more intuitive databases for their users (Hvorecký, 2010).
Finally, the author
gives some advice for further research in the field of user-developed mental
models. Since most users create mental models based on a database from
previous, similar resources they have used, it would behoove researchers to
look into providing users with familiar metaphors or systems to help them learn
a new system. This cognitive familiarity already exists in the literature and
would strengthen the argument of this paper (Johnson-Laird, 2013).
The appraisal of this
mental model development study was conducted using the Evidence-Based Library
and Information Practice (EBLIP) Critical Appraisal Checklist from Memorial
University of Newfoundland (Glynn, 2006).
References
Glynn, L. (2006). A critical
appraisal tool for library and information research. Library Hi Tech, 24(3), 387-399. doi:10.1108/07378830610692154
Hvorecký, J., Drlík,
M., & Munk, M. (2010). Enhancing database
querying skills by choosing a more appropriate interface. IEE EDUCON
Conference 2010: Annual Global Engineering Education Conference. (pp. 1897-1905) Madrid, Spain. doi:10.1109/EDUCON.2010.5492434
Johnson-Laird, P.N. (2013) Mental
models and cognitive change [Special issue]. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(2) p.131-138. doi:10.1080/20445911.2012.759935