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How helpful is it to organize personal information by activity?

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Title: How helpful is it to organize personal information by activity?
Authors: Englefield, Paul (AUTHOR), Beale, Russell (AUTHOR)
Source: Behaviour & Information Technology. Jun2026, Vol. 45 Issue 9, p1842-1865. 24p.
Subjects: Documentation, Interprofessional relations, Task performance, Data analysis, Qualitative research, Statistical sampling, Role playing, Questionnaires, Kruskal-Wallis Test, Libraries, Episodic memory, Information resources, Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U Test, Experimental design, Statistics, Research, Time management, Information retrieval, Confidence intervals, Information resources management, Algorithms
Abstract: Knowledge workers are known to adopt a range of different schemes to organise personal information resources such as email, documents, and spreadsheets. Some researchers have argued that grouping resources by the activity that they support should assist filing and retrieval. To investigate this claim, we systematically compared an activity-based scheme to two contrasting approaches: grouping by topic and grouping by time-management attributes. We also included an unconstrained free-form condition. We selected a controlled method to complement the existing naturalistic work on this topic. A cohort of 74 participants, with similar educational and occupational backgrounds, worked in small groups to design schemes for a given scenario with realistic and relatable goals, responsibilities, and interests. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. A statistical analysis of their reported experiences showed that while they reported that all four schemes had some benefits, they had greater confidence in organizing by activity over the other constrained approaches. While organizing by activity was not preferred to an unconstrained approach, an exploratory review of these free-form designs showed that most participants spontaneously organised by activity at higher levels of a hierarchy with some use of other concepts, such as genre, at lower levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Behaviour & Information Technology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
FullText Text:
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  Data: How helpful is it to organize personal information by activity?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Englefield%2C+Paul%22">Englefield, Paul</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Beale%2C+Russell%22">Beale, Russell</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Behaviour+%26+Information+Technology%22">Behaviour & Information Technology</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 45 Issue 9, p1842-1865. 24p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Documentation%22">Documentation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interprofessional+relations%22">Interprofessional relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Task+performance%22">Task performance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis%22">Data analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistical+sampling%22">Statistical sampling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Role+playing%22">Role playing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kruskal-Wallis+Test%22">Kruskal-Wallis Test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Libraries%22">Libraries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Episodic+memory%22">Episodic memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+resources%22">Information resources</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mann+Whitney+U+Test%22">Mann Whitney U Test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Experimental+design%22">Experimental design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research%22">Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Time+management%22">Time management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+retrieval%22">Information retrieval</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confidence+intervals%22">Confidence intervals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+resources+management%22">Information resources management</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Algorithms%22">Algorithms</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Knowledge workers are known to adopt a range of different schemes to organise personal information resources such as email, documents, and spreadsheets. Some researchers have argued that grouping resources by the activity that they support should assist filing and retrieval. To investigate this claim, we systematically compared an activity-based scheme to two contrasting approaches: grouping by topic and grouping by time-management attributes. We also included an unconstrained free-form condition. We selected a controlled method to complement the existing naturalistic work on this topic. A cohort of 74 participants, with similar educational and occupational backgrounds, worked in small groups to design schemes for a given scenario with realistic and relatable goals, responsibilities, and interests. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. A statistical analysis of their reported experiences showed that while they reported that all four schemes had some benefits, they had greater confidence in organizing by activity over the other constrained approaches. While organizing by activity was not preferred to an unconstrained approach, an exploratory review of these free-form designs showed that most participants spontaneously organised by activity at higher levels of a hierarchy with some use of other concepts, such as genre, at lower levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Behaviour & Information Technology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=194088543
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/0144929X.2025.2560551
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 24
        StartPage: 1842
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Documentation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interprofessional relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Task performance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistical sampling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Role playing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Kruskal-Wallis Test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Libraries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Episodic memory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information resources
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mann Whitney U Test
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Experimental design
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Time management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information retrieval
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Confidence intervals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Information resources management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Algorithms
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: How helpful is it to organize personal information by activity?
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            NameFull: Englefield, Paul
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            NameFull: Beale, Russell
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 45
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