The usefulness of multimedia surrogates for making relevance judgments about digital video objects

• Published in: Information processing & management Vol. 56; no. 6; p. 102091
• Main Authors: Wildemuth, Barbara M., Marchionini, Gary, Fu, Xin, Oh, Jun Sung, Yang, Meng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2019; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Customer satisfaction; Digital video; Digital video collections; Information searching; Judgments; Multimedia; Perceptions; Relevance; Searching; Surrogates; User behavior; User satisfaction; Relevance; Digital video collections; Information searching; Surrogates
• ISSN: 0306-4573; 1873-5371
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ipm.2019.102091

•Storyboard, 7-second segment, and fast forward video surrogates were equally effective in supporting users in making accurate relevance judgments.•Storyboard surrogates were the most efficient to use, but many participants chose to use multiple surrogates when they were available.•The fast forward surrogate or a combination of all three surrogates was preferred by video collection users.•Developers of video collections should consider providing multiple surrogates, each providing a different view of the video content and/or style.
Large collections of digital video are increasingly accessible. The large volume and range of available video demands search tools that allow people to browse and query easily and to quickly make sense of the videos behind the result sets. This study focused on the usefulness of several multimedia surrogates, in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction. Three surrogates were evaluated and compared: a storyboard, a 7-second segment, and a fast forward. Thirty-six experienced users of digital video conducted searches on each of four systems: three incorporated one of the surrogates each, and the fourth made all three surrogates available. Participants judged the relevance of at least 10 items for each search based on the surrogate(s) available, then re-judged the relevance of two of those items based on viewing the full video. Transaction logs and post-search and post-session questionnaires provided data on user interactions, including relevance judgments, and user perceptions. All of the surrogates provided a basis for accurate relevance judgments, though they varied (in expected ways) in terms of their efficiency. User perceptions favored the system with all three surrogates available, even though it took longer to use; they found it easier to learn and easier to use, and it gave them more confidence in their judgments. Based on these results, we can conclude that it's important for digital video collections to provide multiple surrogates, each providing a different view of the video.