Cognitive and task influences on Web searching behavior

Users' individual differences and tasks are important factors that influence the use of information systems. Two independent investigations were conducted to study the impact of differences in users' cognition and search tasks on Web search activities and outcomes. Strong task effects were found on search activities and outcomes, whereas interactions between cognitive and task variables were found on search activities only. These results imply that the flexibility of the Web and Web search engines allows different users to complete different search tasks successfully. However, the search techniques used and the efficiency of the searches appear to depend on how well the individual searcher fits with the specific task.

[1]  Rodney L. Custer,et al.  Technological and Personal Problem Solving Styles: Is There a Difference?. , 1996 .

[2]  Michael D. Gordon,et al.  Finding Information on the World Wide Web: The Retrieval Effectiveness of Search Engines , 1999, Inf. Process. Manag..

[3]  Gail Fitzgerald,et al.  The effects of learner differences on usage patterns and learning outcomes with hypermedia case studies , 1998 .

[4]  T. D. Wilson,et al.  Models in information behaviour research , 1999, J. Documentation.

[5]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Real life, real users, and real needs: a study and analysis of user queries on the web , 2000, Inf. Process. Manag..

[6]  Tom Wilson,et al.  Models in Information Behavior Research , 1999 .

[7]  Hsin-Liang Chen,et al.  Evaluation of Web Search Engines by Undergraduate Students. , 1999 .

[8]  Sergey Brin,et al.  The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine , 1998, Comput. Networks.

[9]  K. Goldstein,et al.  Cognitive style: Five approaches and relevant research , 1978 .

[10]  Paul B. Kantor,et al.  A study of information seeking and retrieving. I. background and methodology , 1988 .

[11]  Vijay V. Raghavan,et al.  Information Retrieval on the World Wide Web , 1997, IEEE Internet Comput..

[12]  Peter Ingwersen,et al.  Information Retrieval Interaction , 1992 .

[13]  Paul B. Kantor,et al.  A study of information seeking and retrieving. II. Users, questions, and effectiveness , 1988 .

[14]  Bryce Allen.  Individual differences and the conundrums of user-centered design: two experiments , 2000 .

[15]  Kyung-Sun Kim,et al.  Person and context in information seeking: interactions between cognitive and task variables , 2001 .

[16]  Monika Henzinger,et al.  Analysis of a very large web search engine query log , 1999, SIGF.

[17]  Dietmar Wolfram,et al.  Hypertext vs Boolean-based Searching in a Bibliographic Database Environment: A Direct Comparison of Searcher Performance , 1998, Inf. Process. Manag..

[18]  Ingrid Hsieh-Yee,et al.  Effects of Search Experience and Subject Knowledge on the Search Tactics of Novice and Experienced Searchers. , 1993 .

[19]  Bryce Allen,et al.  Information needs: a person-in-situation approach , 1997 .

[20]  Richard E. Snow,et al.  A Person-Situation Interaction Theory of Intelligence in Outline , 1994 .

[21]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  The matters that really matter for hypertext usability , 1989, Hypertext.

[22]  David Ellis,et al.  A Behavioural Approach to Information Retrieval System Design , 1989, J. Documentation.

[23]  Nigel Ford,et al.  Individual differences, hypermedia navigation, and learning: an empirical study , 2000 .

[24]  Gary Marchionini.  Information-seeking strategies of novices using a full-text electronic encyclopedia , 1989 .

[25]  Carol Tenopir,et al.  Users' interaction with World Wide Web resources: an exploratory study using a holistic approach , 2000, Inf. Process. Manag..

[26]  Bernard J. Jansen,et al.  The effect of query complexity on Web searching results , 2000, Inf. Res..

[27]  Jaideep Srivastava,et al.  First 20 precision among World Wide Web search services (search engines) , 1999 .

[28]  Marcia J. Bates,et al.  A profile of end‐user searching behavior by humanities scholars: The Getty Online Searching Project Report No. 2 , 1993 .

[29]  Christoph Hölscher,et al.  Web search behavior of Internet experts and newbies , 2000, Comput. Networks.

[30]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Searching the Web: the public and their queries , 2001 .

[31]  H. A. Witkin.  THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE STYLE IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND IN TEACHER‐STUDENT RELATIONS12 , 1973 .

[32]  William S. Cooper,et al.  Getting beyond Boole , 1988, Inf. Process. Manag..

[33]  James D. Klein,et al.  The effects of search tool type and cognitive style on performance during hypermedia database searches , 1996 .

[34]  Bryce Allen.  Designing Information Systems for User Abilities and Tasks: an Experimental Study , 1998, Online Inf. Rev..

[35]  Renée L. Babcock,et al.  An examination of the factor structure of four of the cognitive abilities included in the educational testing service kit of factor-referenced cognitive tests , 1997 .

[36]  Mary-Ellen Brown,et al.  A General Model of Information-Seeking Behavior. , 1991 .

[37]  Kyung-Sun Kim,et al.  Cognitive style and on-line database search experience as predictors of Web search performance , 2000, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[38]  Jon Kleinberg,et al.  Authoritative sources in a hyperlinked environment , 1999, SODA '98.

[39]  Hsin-Liang Chen,et al.  Evaluation of Web-Based Search Engines from the End-User's Perspective: A Pilot Study , 1998 .

[40]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau.  Inside the Search Process: Information Seeking from the User's Perspective. , 1991 .

[41]  Kyung-Sun Kim.  Searching the Web: Effects of Problem Solving Style on Information-Seeking Behavior , 1999 .

[42]  Gary Marchionini,et al.  Information-seeking strategies of novices using a full-text electronic encyclopedia , 1989, JASIS.

[43]  W. M. Reed,et al.  The relationship between the learning strategies and learning styles in a hypermedia environment , 1994 .

[44]  Joseph R. Matthews,et al.  Using Online Catalogs: A Nationwide Survey , 1983 .

[45]  Paul B. Kantor,et al.  A study of information seeking and retrieving. II. Users, questions, and effectiveness , 1988, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[46]  Lloyd P. Rieber,et al.  Animation as feedback in a computer-based simulation: Representation matters , 1996 .

[47]  N. Ford,et al.  COGNITIVE STYLES AND SEARCHING , 1994 .

[48]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Median measure: an approach to IR systems evaluation , 2001, Inf. Process. Manag..

[49]  Richard J. Koubek,et al.  An empirical evaluation of knowledge, cognitive style, and structure upon the performance of a hypertext task , 1994, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[50]  Annabel Pollock,et al.  What''s Wrong with Internet Searching , 1997 .

[51]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Interaction in information retrieval: selection and effectiveness of search terms , 1997 .

[52]  David Ellis,et al.  Hypertext and learning styles , 1993 .

[53]  Liwen Qiu,et al.  Analytical Searching vs. Browsing in Hypertext Information Retrieval Systems. , 1993 .