Instructions
Requirements for you to work on this HIT:
  • You know what a voice assistant is (for example, AliGenie, Alexa, Alice, Cortana, Google Assistant, or Siri) and would at least be interested in using one.
  • You have not participated in this survey before.
  • You have JavaScript activated.

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed good arguments just now? We (anonymized for blind review) want to help in such situations, but first we need to understand these situations better. You can help us by filling out this ~15 minute survey.

You can already ask the Internet for arguments. For example, this page shows arguments pro and con of "should I buy an electric car?" But typing text is cumbersome in many situations. That is why we want to develop a voice-based interface for this technology: you should be able to quickly get the pros and cons by speaking to your phone, watch, or smart speaker.

To complete this HIT, answer all multiple-choice questions below.

Part 1: Personal Information
  1. To which gender identity do you most identify? (optional)
  2. How old are you?
  3. Do you use voice assistants?
Part 2: Usage Scenarios

This part asks how likely it would be for you to use voice-based argument search in different situations and with different motivations. To help you understand the situations and motivations, we added brief example settings.

  1. If voice-based argument search were available for you today, how likely would you be to use it...
    Example setting: You are sitting alone at the breakfast table at home and are reminded by the news about an important election in your country next week. You ask your voice assistant to give pro and con arguments for specific parties to help you make a final voting decision.
    Extremely likelyVery likelySomewhat likelyNot so likelyNot at all likelyDon't know
    ... alone at home.
    ... to make a voting decision.
    Comment:
  2. If voice-based argument search were available for you today, how likely would you be to use it...
    Example setting: You are serving customers with a colleague behind the counter. Your colleague is annoyed because the staff have to start wearing work uniforms from tomorrow onwards. You ask your voice assistant to give pro arguments for work uniforms so that you can convince your colleague that they are good to have.
    Extremely likelyVery likelySomewhat likelyNot so likelyNot at all likelyDon't know
    ... at work in front of customers.
    ... to convince my colleague.
    Comment:
  3. If voice-based argument search were available for you today, how likely would you be to use it...
    Example setting: You are waiting for someone on a bench in the park in front of a lake with ducks. You don't have space for a duck at your home, but just for fun and to entertain yourself, you ask your voice assistant to give you arguments for having a duck as pet.
    Extremely likelyVery likelySomewhat likelyNot so likelyNot at all likelyDon't know
    ... alone in the park.
    ... to entertain myself.
    Comment:
  4. If voice-based argument search were available for you today, how likely would you be to use it...
    Example setting: A friend comes into your office at work. She mentions that she is thinking of getting an electric car. You want to convince your friend that the time for electric cars has not come yet, so you ask your voice assistant for con arguments about this topic.
    Extremely likelyVery likelySomewhat likelyNot so likelyNot at all likelyDon't know
    ... at work with a friend.
    ... to convince my friend.
    Comment:
  5. If voice-based argument search were available for you today, how likely would you be to use it...
    Example setting: You are going into a very busy electronics store to buy a pre-configured PC for yourself. There are many Notebooks and Desktop PCs that fulfill your demands, but you cannot decide which kind of PC you want. To help you make a decision on which option is best, you ask your voice assistant for pro and con arguments of Notebooks and Desktop PCs.
    Extremely likelyVery likelySomewhat likelyNot so likelyNot at all likelyDon't know
    ... in a crowded store.
    ... to make a buying decision.
    Comment:
  6. If voice-based argument search were available for you today, how likely would you be to use it...
    Example setting: You are at home with a friend and you want to order pizza. For some reason, you come to argue about the sense or nonsense of pineapple on pizza, but can’t come to a conclusion. To make a joke of the situation, you ask your voice assistant what arguments there are against having pineapple on pizza.
    Extremely likelyVery likelySomewhat likelyNot so likelyNot at all likelyDon't know
    ... at home with a friend.
    ... to have fun with a friend.
    Comment:
Part 3: Functionalities

This part asks how much you think you could use specific functionalities that an argument search might offer in your life.

  1. When you think about getting pro and/or con arguments on a specific topic, do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: Tell me supportive arguments to electric cars.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  2. When you think about getting the total number of arguments about a specific topic, do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: Tell me how many arguments exist on the topic of electric cars.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  3. When you think about getting pro and/or con arguments about a specific topic which focus on a specific aspect of the topic, do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: Tell me supportive arguments for electric cars that focus on the battery.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  4. When you think about getting the aspects for a topic on which the arguments focus, do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: What do the pros for electric cars focus on and what the cons?
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  5. When you think about getting evidence for an argument that was mentioned beforehand, do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: Give me evidence that the last argument is true.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  6. When you think about getting the source of an argument that was mentioned beforehand (i.e., the news paper, forum, or blog that published it), do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: What is the source of the last argument?
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  7. When you think about providing a rating for an argument that was mentioned beforehand (to help other users; malevolent ratings would be discarded), do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: Rate this argument with 3 out of 10.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  8. When you think about adding an own argument for the current topic (to help other users; malevolent contributions would be discarded), do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example request: Add con argument, electric vehicles have a limited range due to the low energy density of batteries.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  9. When you think about playing a debate game of finding the best arguments (as determined by the argument ranking of the search engine), do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Example game turn:
    You: Electric cars can slash greenhouse gas emissions.
    Assistant: This argument has a score of 42.2. There remain two other high-scoring pro arguments to be found.
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  10. When you think about voice-based argument search, do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  11. When you think about argument search (not necessarily voice-based), do you think of it as something you need or don't need?
    Definitely needProbably needNeutralProbably don't needDefinitely don't needDon't know
    Comment:
  12. In your own words, which other functionalities would you need from a (not necessarily voice-based) argument search system? (optional)
  13. Just like args.me puts some arguments at the top of the screen, the assistant would need to decide which arguments to speak first. Different criteria can be used to determine these first arguments.

    When you think about the criteria listed below, which of them do you think should be the most important to determine which arguments are spoken first?

    Most importantLeast importantDon't know
    Machine Rating
    Effect: The first arguments are particularly strong (as determined by an algorithm).
    User Rating
    Effect: The first arguments are particularly strong (as rated by users).
    Source Reliability
    Effect: The first arguments are from trustworty sources (as rated by a community).
    Source Coverage
    Effect: The first arguments cover various sources.
    Aspect Coverage
    Effect: The first arguments cover various aspects of the topic.
    Recency
    Effect: The first arguments are up-to-date.
    Comment: