OAKDEC, a program for studying the effects on users of a procedural expert system for database searching

摘要

OAKDEC is a program that uses expert system techniques to assess the status of a database search done through the intermediary program, OAK, and to provide a recommendation to the user on how to proceed. Based on decision-making logic in the original OAK system, OAKDEC works at a far greater degree of detail, or finer grain size, in resolving the situation and in making the decision on the next step to be recommended. OAKDEC is intended as a research tool for studying user behavior and, in particular, for studying the effect of decision detail on user behavior and search outcome.