Relevance criterion choices in relation to search progress

Relevance as an information science concept is at the center of human information behavior. Relevance judgments occur within an information search process, where time, context and situation can impact relevance judgments. The determination of relevance is dependent on a number of factors and variables which include the criteria used to make relevance judgments. Research has shown that relevance judgments are dynamic, varying among user's evaluating the same document, and varying by user for the same document over the course of the information search process. Research has suggested that the criteria used to make these relevance judgments may also be dynamic. Understanding which relevance criteria are chosen and when they are chosen during the information search process can provide important information about the dynamic relevance judgment process and inform the development of information retrieval systems.;The purpose of this exploratory research is to examine the importance of the criteria used by searchers to make relevance judgments over the course of an information search process. The goal is to determine if users' choices of criteria, and the importance of those criteria change over the course of an information search process.;This research encompasses three separate studies which examined a subject's relevance judgment and the criteria used to make that judgment over the course of an information search process. Subjects were asked to search for information, evaluate documents, and then make relevance judgments for those documents. They were then asked about their relevance judgment, where they were in their search process when they made that judgment, and which criteria were used to make that judgment. Statistical analysis was used to examine these results. Findings include consistent selections of criteria across three distinct studies, and a statistically significant relationship between criteria choices and stage in the information search process. Sets of criteria choices were also examined and statistically significant relationships between sets of criteria and stage in the information search process were also detected.