Publication Date
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Mary Fendley (Advisor), Subhashini Ganapathy (Committee Member), Yan Liu (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr)
Abstract
A key intelligence analyst role in open source search is the transformation of data into understanding. Better comprehension is needed of how new tools impact the analyst search process. The use of function analysis, heuristic analysis, and a usability study combine to provide the basis for developing an analyst process model, which affords the researcher with a structure to measure the impact of tools and expertise in performing a search task. The experiment utilized representative analyst scenario tasks in comparing baseline tools with the Geospatial Open Search Toolkit (GOST). The results show error rates increase when using a new toolset due to unfamiliarity with system affordances. Lack of toolset familiarity impacted participant output and time on task breakdown. Opportunities exist both for additional novice process training as well as more time for experts to acclimatize to new toolsets.
Page Count
114
Department or Program
Department of Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering
Year Degree Awarded
2014
Copyright
Copyright 2014, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
