Children's web search with Google: the effectiveness of natural language queries

In this paper, we present work in progress on how elementary school children use modern search engines to solve informational search tasks. Specifically, in a laboratory study with 21 children aged 8-10 we investigated whether the use of natural-language queries leads to more successful search outcomes than keyword queries when searching the Internet with Google. Both quantitative and qualitative data are reported that indicate the advantages of natural-language queries. Along, based on our observations we present a query-reformulation tool for a search engine interface for children that we are currently developing.

[1]  Frans van der Sluis,et al.  A Closer Look at Children's Information Retrieval Usage , 2010 .

[2]  Elizabeth Foss,et al.  How children search the internet with keyword interfaces , 2009, IDC.

[3]  Elizabeth Foss,et al.  Children's roles using keyword search interfaces at home , 2010, CHI.

[4]  BilalDania.  Children's use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine , 2001 .

[5]  Gregory K. W. K. Chung,et al.  Children's Internet Searching on Complex Problems: Performance and Process Analyses , 1998, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[6]  Marie-Francine Moens,et al.  Text simplification for children , 2010, SIGIR 2010.

[7]  Dania Bilal.  Children's use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine: I. Cognitive, physical, and affective behaviors on fact‐based search tasks , 2000 .

[8]  S. Livingstone,et al.  Internet literacy among children and young people: findings from the UK Children Go Online project , 2005 .

[9]  Dania Bilal,et al.  Children's use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine. III. Cognitive and physical behaviors on fully self-generated search tasks , 2002, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

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

[11]  Jamshid Beheshti,et al.  The Web as a classroom resource: reactions from the users , 2000 .

[12]  Theo Huibers,et al.  Children searching information on the Internet: Performance on children's interfaces compared to Google , 2010 .

[13]  S. Hirsh.  Children's Relevance Criteria and Information Seeking on Electronic Resources , 1999, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..