Efficacy improvement in searching MEDLINE database using a novel PubMed visual analytic system: EEEvis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Information Science
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• PubMed is a primary search engine for biomedical literature.
• Users face challenges with massive search results and unfamiliar fields.
• Existing interfaces may not fully meet user needs for efficient literature discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate EEEvis, a novel interactive visual analytic system for biomedical literature search.
• To compare the usability and effectiveness of EEEvis against PubMed.
• To identify user preferences and advantages of the new system.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a preliminary survey with 76 medical experts on PubMed usability.
• Developed EEEvis with features like bibliographic overviews, co-authorship networks, and interactive data manipulation.
• Performed a randomized user study with 24 medical experts comparing EEEvis and PubMed.

Main Results:

• EEEvis demonstrated comparable search speed to PubMed.
• 91.7% of users expressed willingness to use EEEvis as their primary search tool.
• 87.5% of users highlighted bibliographic sorting and filtering as key advantages.

Conclusions:

• EEEvis offers an enhanced user experience for biomedical literature search.
• The system can serve as a valuable supplementary interface to PubMed.
• Interactive visual analytics improve efficiency and user satisfaction in literature discovery.