http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/
Research Commons at the University of Waikato
Copyright Statement:
The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand).
The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the
Act and the following conditions of use:
Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private
study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right
to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be
made to the author where appropriate.
You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the
thesis.
, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
EXPLORING MOBILE USER NEEDS
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillemnt of
requirement for the degree
of
Master of Science in Computer Science
at
The University of Waikato
by
Su-Ping (Carole) Chang
Department of Computer Science
Hamilton, New Zealand
May, 2011
c 2011 Su-Ping (Carole) Chang
,Abstract
The users of mobile devices increasingly use networked services to address their
information needs. Questions asked by mobile users are strongly influenced by
context factors, such as location and user activity. However in research which
has empirically documented the link between mobile information needs and
context factors, information about expected answers is scant. Therefore, the
goal of this study is to explore the context factors which influence the mobile
information needs and the answers expected by mobile users. The results,
are obtained by analysing information from paper diaries and digital diaries.
This project involved a user study, comprising two different types of studies
concerning a paper diary and a digital diary. The analysis of both the paper
diary and the digital diary was conducted through grounded theory and taxon-
omy of information needs. our results indicate a relationship between mobile
information needs and context factors and expected answers. Our study ex-
plored this relationship between mobile information needs and context factors,
and provides a better understanding of the expected answers related to mobile
information needs.
, Acknowledgements
It would not have been possible to complete this thesis in a relatively short
period of time without the great support and help of a number of people whom
I would like to recognize and thank.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor,
Dr. Annika Hinze. I am grateful for her expert guidance and enthusiastic com-
mitment to this thesis. You made me believe in myself at times when I had
lost faith. Thank you so much for your support.
I also want to extend my special thanks to Ms. Margaret Peapell, for her com-
ments and suggestions on writing this thesis. Your patience and professional
proofreading help me finish this thesis. I would like to thank my research par-
ticipants for their time and ISDB members for participating these studies.
Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family. To my adorable
parents; Amy and Ben who have the overwhelming love and support. To my
siblings; Cindy, Coco and Benson who help and encourage me. To my lovely
dog; Maggie which walks with me every morning to clear my mind. I could
not have done this without you all.
Research Commons at the University of Waikato
Copyright Statement:
The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand).
The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the
Act and the following conditions of use:
Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private
study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right
to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be
made to the author where appropriate.
You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the
thesis.
, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
EXPLORING MOBILE USER NEEDS
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillemnt of
requirement for the degree
of
Master of Science in Computer Science
at
The University of Waikato
by
Su-Ping (Carole) Chang
Department of Computer Science
Hamilton, New Zealand
May, 2011
c 2011 Su-Ping (Carole) Chang
,Abstract
The users of mobile devices increasingly use networked services to address their
information needs. Questions asked by mobile users are strongly influenced by
context factors, such as location and user activity. However in research which
has empirically documented the link between mobile information needs and
context factors, information about expected answers is scant. Therefore, the
goal of this study is to explore the context factors which influence the mobile
information needs and the answers expected by mobile users. The results,
are obtained by analysing information from paper diaries and digital diaries.
This project involved a user study, comprising two different types of studies
concerning a paper diary and a digital diary. The analysis of both the paper
diary and the digital diary was conducted through grounded theory and taxon-
omy of information needs. our results indicate a relationship between mobile
information needs and context factors and expected answers. Our study ex-
plored this relationship between mobile information needs and context factors,
and provides a better understanding of the expected answers related to mobile
information needs.
, Acknowledgements
It would not have been possible to complete this thesis in a relatively short
period of time without the great support and help of a number of people whom
I would like to recognize and thank.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor,
Dr. Annika Hinze. I am grateful for her expert guidance and enthusiastic com-
mitment to this thesis. You made me believe in myself at times when I had
lost faith. Thank you so much for your support.
I also want to extend my special thanks to Ms. Margaret Peapell, for her com-
ments and suggestions on writing this thesis. Your patience and professional
proofreading help me finish this thesis. I would like to thank my research par-
ticipants for their time and ISDB members for participating these studies.
Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family. To my adorable
parents; Amy and Ben who have the overwhelming love and support. To my
siblings; Cindy, Coco and Benson who help and encourage me. To my lovely
dog; Maggie which walks with me every morning to clear my mind. I could
not have done this without you all.
