Accepted for Publication By the Journal of Information Science: http://jis.sagepub.co.uk Articulating Complex Information Needs Using Query Templates Olga Vechtomova 1 and Hao Zhang Department of Management Sciences, University of Waterloo ABSTRACT In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of topic-independent query templates as a tool for assisting users in articulating their information needs. We hypothesize that topic-independent query templates can help users with complex information needs to express their requirements more accurately and in greater detail. We developed a set of query templates representing general semantic relationships between concepts, such as cause-effect and problem-solution. Each template was written in the form of a fill-in-the-blanks question. A user study was performed comparing the template- based interface with a single-textbox search interface. Results demonstrate that, while users found the template-based query formulation less easy to use, the queries written using templates performed better than the queries written using the control interface with one query textbox. Keywords: Query formulation, query templates, complex information needs, Rhetorical Structure Theory, interactive information retrieval, user study. 1. Introduction While many users have relatively simple or general information needs, users who are familiar with a certain topic may have more specific or complex information needs. Having already some knowledge of a subject and its concepts or entities, such users may want to find information on a specific aspect of a certain entity, such as its cause, effect, how it can be prevented, what can be done to achieve it, or a relationship between entities, e.g., how does entity X 1 Correspondence to: Olga Vechtomova, Department of Management Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada, ovechtom@engmail.uwaterloo.ca. Journal of Information Science, XX (X) 2008, pp. 1–17 © CILIP, DOI: 10.1177/0165551506nnnnnn 1 JIS-0832-v2 Received: 24th September 2008 Revised: 9th December 2008