Searching large text databases often resembles detective work. We explored this notion with an experiment in which subjects used powerful full text searching software to solve problems about the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Hound of the Baskervilles . The experiment was conducted in two parts: in the first part subjects attempted to teach themselves about the software using only the documentation; in the second part, subjects used the software to answer questions such as What brand of cigarette does Watson smoke? The experiment provided a great deal of feedback about the usability of the software and the documentation. Among the results that have wider implications are the need for better display of context, and a need for careful documentation of the characteristics of full text searching.
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