Summary Models of the Information Seeking Process (Ch 3) | Search User Interfaces | Marti Hearst | Cambridge University Press 2009 searchuserinterfaces.com
9,392 words - html page - View html page
One Line
Successful search user interfaces require an understanding of the human information seeking process and strategies, as well as acknowledging that searchers often change their information needs during the search.
Slides
Slide Presentation (11 slides)
Key Points
- Successful search user interfaces require an understanding of the human information seeking process and the strategies people use when searching.
- The standard model of the information seeking process assumes that the user's information need is static, but observational studies have shown that searchers' information needs change as they interact with the search system.
- Searchers may switch strategies based on certain triggers, such as completing a step, encountering something interesting, or finding inconsistencies.
- Searching and browsing are two distinct ways of accessing information.
- The concept of information scent suggests that a target has scent at a link if the associated outlink information would lead an information navigator to take that link in pursuit of the given target.
- Searchers often take small steps and use known paths to find information, reducing the likelihood of errors.
- Queries related to sex and pornography decreased over time, while commerce-related queries increased.
- Fact finding, information gathering, and browsing are common tasks in the information seeking process.
Summaries
34 word summary
Successful search user interfaces require an understanding of the human information seeking process and strategies. The standard model assumes a static information need refined through query refinement. However, observational studies have shown that searchers...
46 word summary
Successful search user interfaces require an understanding of the human information seeking process and the strategies people use when searching. The standard model assumes a static information need that is refined through query refinement until relevant documents are retrieved. However, observational studies have shown that searchers
494 word summary
Successful search user interfaces require an understanding of the human information seeking process and the strategies people use when searching. The chapter discusses various theoretical models of the search process, including the standard model, the cognitive model, the dynamic model, search as a sequence of
The standard model of the information seeking process assumes that the user's information need is static and the process involves refining a query until relevant documents are retrieved. However, observational studies have shown that searchers' information needs change as they interact with the search system
Searches are conducted to verify hypotheses, with uncertainty decreasing and confidence growing. However, half of the study participants did not reach a focused perspective during their search process. The collection stage is when the search system is most useful, as information related to the
A searcher may switch strategies based on certain triggers, such as completing a step, encountering something interesting, facing a change or violation of expectations, or finding inconsistencies. People decide to stop searching when there are no more triggers, they have found enough material,
Searching and browsing are two distinct ways of accessing information. Searching involves generating new collections of information through queries, while browsing involves following links or categories that lead to pre-defined groups of information items. Browsing also includes exploring navigation structures in a casual and und
The concept of information scent is discussed by Furnas, who suggests that a target has scent at a link if the associated outlink information would lead an information navigator to take that link in pursuit of the given target. Furnas also proposes the navigability
Searchers often take small steps and use known paths to find information, reducing the likelihood of errors. This approach is less cognitively taxing and allows searchers to retain information about the context in which the information occurs. Web search engines are fast,
During the information seeking process, various types of work are done with retrieved information, such as reading, annotating, and analysis. The analysis steps often involve finding trends, making comparisons, aggregation, identifying critical subsets, assessing, and interpreting. However,
In the early days of the web, users had to carefully craft their queries because they were often charged by the minute. However, as the web developed, queries became shorter and simpler, and the types of information available expanded to include information about organizations,
Queries related to sex and pornography decreased from 16.8% in 1997 to 3.6% in 2005, while commerce-related queries increased from 13.3% to 30.4% during the same period.
A study estimated that only 16% of queries in a larger sample were ambiguous. Many searches involve re-accessing previously seen information, either through browser bookmarks or search engine queries. Researchers have used query log behavior to improve ranking algorithms and predict user preferences
Fact finding constituted 18% of tasks, with over 55% being repeat activities. Information gathering made up 13% of tasks, some lasting several days. Browsing accounted for 19% of tasks and included news reading, blog reading,