Text Seeker (Tzeeker) Project
What is Tzeeker and what can I do with it?
Contributors
- Geoffrey Rockwell
- Stéfan Sinclair
- Lian Yan
- James Chartrand
- Shawn Day
- Brad Karelson
For more information please see:
contributor details
Name
The decision on an official name for this project was up for discussion until about halfway through the semester when we settled on Tzeeker. This is a list of possible names that were considered. Please see:
Name Ideas for Tzeeker
Initial Thoughts
The existence of the portal and of the
TAPoRware tools page can be confusing to users.
We want to create a simplified touchpoint for new and experienced users alike.
It should minimize initial interaction and instead determine appropriate TA actions to take based on the text entered.
Initial results should provide an overview of the diverse ways that one could approach the text and offer suggestion via the interface for further analysis.
The Tzeeker project will result in a simplified text analysis resource for both new and experienced users but without jeopardizing the effectiveness it possesses. Tzeeker will follow the same TA principles as
TAPoR, but at the same time will provide a ready and available resource for users of any level of experience. It will minimize initial interaction and instead determine appropriate TA actions to take based on the text entered.
Objectives
To experiment with a simple one-field-one-button interface that can introduce users to text analysis. To provide a “one field does all” site in which users can analyze text in a variety of different forms with a variety of analytical tools. Ultimately, to present a smart text analysis site that incorporates a variety of TA tools and eliminates initial confusion surrounding the site’s existence and capabilities.
Possible Inputs and Outputs
Tzeek Inputs and Outputs describes how we plan to handle input like one word or a URL.
Guiding Principles
- One Click is going to get you results
- Each screen will suggest future directions
- Directions will take the form of demonstration (static or live) of what invocation of that direction will provide as a result (preferrably as a graphic visualisation)
Project Paper
Brad has written a report essay for his thesis project on Tzeeker. It addresses some of the following subjects:
- Audience and Purpose of Project
- Background Research
- Implementation
- Artistic and Design Elements
The paper can be found here:
Text Seeker project paper
User Stories
Persona 1: English student new to Tzeeker
Daniel Hengist is an undergraduate student in English at the University of Western Ontario. His studies are concentrated primarily on poetry. He is not particularly a whiz with computers and lacks confidence in his limited abilities with computers. He is writing an analytical paper on William Blake’s poem, The Tyger.
Please see:
Scenario and Wireframes
Persona 2: Communications Studies PhD? student
Aoide Eir is a
PhD? student in Communication Studies. She wants to look at discourse around game studies and has been pointed to Tzeek by her professor. She is familiar with content analysis methods, but not with text analysis. She is comfortable with computers. She doesn't have a collection of sample texts to study yet.
Please see:
Scenarios and Wireframes
Persona 3: Biology professor familiar with Text Analysis
Dr. Ricky Uzoma is a biology professor at Edinburgh University. He is also a senior editor and board member for the
PLoS? (Public Library of Science) Biology journal. Dr. Uzoma is fairly well educated and enthusiastic on the topic of online text analysis and is always open to learning more about the subject and its capabilities. He is researching information on ethylene in plant biology for a new article he will be writing for the journal.
Please see:
Scenario and Wireframes
Persona 4: Senior columnist; experienced Tzeeker user
Peter Rodion is a senior columnist at the Haliburton Echo newspaper. He has been writing with the Echo for over two decades but has been asked this year to help with hiring new editors. An extensive vocabulary is of high importance to Peter in terms of quality of writing. He has used Text Seeker’s Author Biography tool once before to help him learn more about the writer of an article he had read in the Ottawa Citizen and was impressed with its capabilities. He wants to know what Text Seeker can do to help him hire a new editor.
Please see:
Scenario and Wireframes
Interface Design
Annotated Screen Shots
Entry Screen
Results Page
User Login Ideas
The future of Tzeeker should allow users to create an account and login, save and manage content/results as they please. These are screen shots of what the results page could look like before a user has logged in and after.
Please see:
Text Seeker login screens
Page Designs
Three page designs were considered for the look of Tzeeker's final interface. Because Design (1) featured a set of complex graphical elements including modestly rounded corners and a colour gradient on title bars, it was decided that Design (1) was not realistically employable. Eventually, Design (1) was eliminated, and Design (3) was chosen between the two that remained based on the partiality for warm over cool colours.
To view all page design concepts, please see:
page designs
Logo Ideas
Use this page as a place to post graphics, colours, typefaces, and anything else that you may like to see in the final product in terms of graphics
Please see:
possible logos for Text Seeker
Tentative Schedule
Brad has come up with a project plan based on the deadline of his Thesis project due April 2, 2008. It is both graphically and textually represented here:
workable Text Seeker schedule
Meeting Notes
What's Next?
Because the subject of text analysis is not one that necessarily goes hand in hand with art, page design for a TA site can be somewhat restricting with respect to artistic expression. However, the future of Tzeeker may see some elements from the following interface concepts for Tzeeker II. Tzeeker’s future will undoubtedly see a wider variety of tools to run, better displays and an advanced feature that lets the user choose which tools to run.
Sites of Interest
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ShawnDay - 27 Feb 2008
