Doctoral students' mental models of a Web search engine : an exploratory study

This exploratory research investigates the factors that might influence a specific group of users’ mental models of a Web search engine, Google, as measured in the dimension of completeness. A modified mental model completeness scale (MMCS) was developed based on Borgman’s, Dimitroff s, and Saxon’s models, encompassing the perception of (1) the nature of the Web search engine, (2) searching features of the Web search engine, and (3) the interaction between the searcher and the Web search engine. With this scale, a participant’s mental model completeness level was determined by how many components of the first two parts of the scale were described and which level of interaction between the participant and Google was revealed during the searches. The choice of the factors was based on the previous studies on individual differences among information seekers, including user’s search experience, cognitive style, learning style, technical aptitudes, training received, discipline, and gender. Sixteen Ph.D. students whose first language is English participated in the research. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine the students’ mental model completeness level (MMCL) as well as their search experience, training received, discipline and gender. Direct observation technique was employed to observe students’ actual interactions with Google. Standard tests were administered to determine the students’ cognitive styles, learning styles and technical aptitudes.

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