Social Information Retrieval Systems:
Emerging Technologies and Applications for Searching the Web Effectively
A book edited by
Dion H. Goh and Schubert Foo
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Proposals Submission Deadline: 15 January 2006 (deadline extended)
Full Chapters Due: 31 May 2006
With the increasing popularity of the Internet, people have now come to depend more on the Web, digital libraries and other information retrieval systems to search for information. However the performance of existing search engines has often been unsatisfactory in meeting users’ information needs due to the enormous amount of information returned, exacerbated by the fact that not all of these results are relevant nor of acceptable quality. This has thus led to a situation where users are swamped with too much information, resulting in difficulty sifting through documents in search of relevant content.
A variety of techniques have been adopted on the Web to address these problems inherent in information search. These range from engaging human experts to judge the relevance of Web sites to innovative algorithms that determine relevance by the characteristics of links found between sites. Research in information seeking behavior suggests an alternative promising approach in helping users meet their information needs. Many studies have found that interaction and collaboration with other people is an important part in the process of information seeking and use. It is not uncommon that in searching for information, we tap on our social networks - friends, colleagues, librarians, etc., to help locate what we need.
Social information retrieval refers to a family of techniques that assist users in obtaining information to meet their information needs by harnessing other users’ expert knowledge or search experience. Examples include sharing of queries, social bookmarking and tagging, social network analysis, subjective relevance judgments, and collaborative filtering. The area provides a promising avenue for the design and implementation of a new generation of information retrieval systems.
Social Information Retrieval Systems: Emerging Technologies and Applications for Searching the Web Effectively will present current state-of-the-art developments in this area and also includes case studies, challenges and trends. Contributors will have the opportunity to inform and educate academics, researchers, information retrieval product managers and software developers, librarians and students in the area of social information retrieval.
Potential contributors are invited to submit a 2-5 page chapter proposal by 15 January 2006 detailing the background, motivations and structure of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by 31 January 2006 on the status of their proposals and sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are due on 31 May 2006 and should be at least 8,000-9,000 words in length. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Final revised manuscripts are due on 31 August 2006.
The book is scheduled to be published by Idea Group Inc., publisher of the Idea Group Publishing, Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing and Idea Group Reference imprints, in 2008.
| Chapter proposal due | 15 January 2006 (new deadline) |
| Notification of acceptance | 31 January 2006 |
| Full chapter due | 31 May 2006 |
| Notification | 31 July 2006 |
| Revised chapter due | 31 August 2006 |
Inquiries and submissions (Microsoft Word files) can be forwarded electronically or by mail to:
Dr. Dion Goh
Email: ashlgoh@ntu.edu.sg
Other contact information:
School of Communication and Information
Nanyang Technological University
31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718
SINGAPORE
Tel: (65) 6790 6290 Fax: (65) 6791-5214