Understanding task preparation and resumption behaviors in cross‐device search

It is now common for individuals to have multiple computing devices, such as laptops, smart phones, and tablets. This multidevice environment increases the popularity of cross‐device search activities. Cross‐device search can be seen as a special case of cross‐session search. Previous studies regarded re‐finding behaviors in cross‐session search as task resumption. Based on this, this article proposes considering 2 phases of cross‐device search: task preparation and task resumption and to explore their features by modeling. A within‐subject user experiment was designed to collect data. Four groups of features were captured from specific behaviors of querying, clicking, gazing, and cognition. This article tested 3 machine‐learning methods and found that the C5.0 decision tree performed best. Five features were included in the task preparation behavior model, and 3 in the task resumption behavior model. The difference and relationship between task preparation and task resumption were investigated by comparing their behavioral features. It is concluded that information need remains blurred in task preparation and becomes clear in task resumption. The changing states of information need suggest an exploratory process in cross‐device search. We also identify some implications for search engine designers.