A comparative analysis of the information-seeking behavior of visually impaired and sighted searchers

Understanding search behavior is important and leads to more effective interfaces that support searchers throughout the search process. In this article, through an observational user study, we investigate the search behavior of 15 visually impaired and 15 sighted searchers while they complete complex search tasks online. We study complex search tasks because they are challenging, cognitively intensive and affect performance of searchers. We compare the behavior of the two groups of searchers at four stages of the information-seeking process namely, Query Formulation, Search Results Exploration, Query Reformulation, and Search Results Management. For each stage, we identify research questions to investigate the impact of speech-based screen readers on the information-seeking behavior of visually impaired users. Significant differences were observed during query formulation and in the use of query-level support features such as query suggestions and spelling suggestions. In addition, screen-reader users submitted a lower number of queries and displayed comparatively limited exploratory behavior during search results exploration. We investigate how a lack of visual cues affected visually impaired searchers' approach towards query reformulation and observed different strategies to manage and use information encountered during the search process. We discuss the implications that our findings have for the design of search interfaces and propose a set of design guidelines to consider when designing interfaces that are usable and accessible with screen readers. This work also enhances our understanding of search behavior when using an auditory interface and could be useful when designing audio-based information retrieval systems. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[1]  Amanda Spink,et al.  A temporal comparison of AltaVista Web searching , 2005, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[2]  Fabio Crestani,et al.  Users' perception of relevance of spoken documents , 2000, J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci..

[3]  Tony Stockman,et al.  Using think aloud protocol with blind users:: a case for inclusive usability evaluation methods , 2006, Assets '06.

[4]  Gary Marchionini,et al.  Previews and overviews in digital libraries: designing surrogates to support visual information seeking , 2000 .

[5]  Jenny Craven Linear Searching in a Non-linear Environment: The Information Seeking Behaviour of Visually Impaired People on the World Wide Web , 2004, ICCHP.

[6]  Gary Marchionini,et al.  Information Seeking in Electronic Environments , 1995 .

[7]  Richard E. Ladner,et al.  WebinSitu: a comparative analysis of blind and sighted browsing behavior , 2007, Assets '07.

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

[9]  Ali Shiri,et al.  Query expansion behavior within a thesaurus-enhanced search environment: A user-centered evaluation , 2006 .

[10]  Ian Ruthven,et al.  Enabling Interactive Query Expansion through Eliciting the Potential Effect of Expansion Terms , 2010, ECIR.

[11]  Michael A. Shepherd,et al.  A Goal-based Classification of Web Information Tasks , 2006, ASIST.

[12]  Elizabeth D. Mynatt Transforming Graphical Interfaces Into Auditory Interfaces for Blind Users , 1997, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[13]  N. Hoffart Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory , 2000 .

[14]  Barbara Leporini,et al.  Designing search engine user interfaces for the visually impaired , 2003, W4A '04.

[15]  Peter Pirolli,et al.  Information Foraging , 2009, Encyclopedia of Database Systems.

[16]  Ian Ruthven,et al.  Searcher's Assessments of Task Complexity for Web Searching , 2004, ECIR.

[17]  Anne R. Haake,et al.  Here, there, anywhere: remote usability testing that works , 2004, CITC5 '04.

[18]  Ali Shiri,et al.  The effects of topic complexity and familiarity on cognitive and physical moves in a thesaurus-enhanced search environment , 2003, J. Inf. Sci..

[19]  Barbara Leporini,et al.  Accessibility and Usability of Search Engine Interfaces: Preliminary Testing , 2004 .

[20]  Ann Blandford,et al.  Digital libraries' support for the user's 'information journey' , 2005, Proceedings of the 5th ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL '05).

[21]  P. Pirolli,et al.  The Sensemaking Process and Leverage Points for Analyst Technology as Identified Through Cognitive Task Analysis , 2007 .

[22]  Gary Marchionini,et al.  Find What You Need, Understand What You Find , 2007, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[23]  Melody Y. Ivory,et al.  Search result exploration: a preliminary study of blind and sighted users' decision making and performance , 2004, CHI EA '04.

[24]  Mark S. Ackerman,et al.  The perfect search engine is not enough: a study of orienteering behavior in directed search , 2004, CHI.

[25]  Peter G. Anick,et al.  A longitudinal study of real-time search assistance adoption , 2008, SIGIR '08.

[26]  Amanda Spink,et al.  Model for organizational knowledge creation and strategic use of information: Research Articles , 2005 .

[27]  I. V. Ramakrishnan,et al.  More than meets the eye: a survey of screen-reader browsing strategies , 2010, W4A.

[28]  D. Campbell Task Complexity: A Review and Analysis , 1988 .

[29]  Marti A. Hearst Search User Interfaces , 2009 .

[30]  F. Paas,et al.  Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design , 1998 .

[31]  Kalervo Järvelin,et al.  Task complexity affects information seeking and use , 1995 .

[32]  Barbara Leporini,et al.  Improving search engine interfaces for blind users: a case study , 2006, Universal Access in the Information Society.

[33]  Carol Collier Kuhlthau,et al.  Longitudinal Case Studies of the Information Search Process of Users in Libraries. , 1988 .

[34]  Stuart K. Card,et al.  The cost structure of sensemaking , 1993, INTERCHI.

[35]  Peter Brophy,et al.  Non-Visual Access to the Digital Library (NoVA): The Use of the Digital Library Interfaces by Blind and Visually Impaired People , 2003 .

[36]  Ali Shiri,et al.  Query expansion behavior within a thesaurus-enhanced search environment: A user-centered evaluation , 2006, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[37]  F. Paas,et al.  Instructional control of cognitive load in the training of complex cognitive tasks , 1994 .

[38]  Marcia J. Bates,et al.  The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface , 1989 .

[39]  Ali Shiri The BCS/IRSG 22nd Annual Colloquium on Information Retrieval Research, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, England, 5-7 April 2000 , 2000, J. Inf. Sci..

[40]  Fabio Crestani,et al.  User's perception of relevance of spoken documents , 2000 .

[41]  Jonathan Berry Apart or a Part? Access to the Internet by Visually Impaired and Blind People, with Particular Emphasis on Assistive Enabling Technology and User Perceptions , 1999 .

[42]  Oussama Metatla,et al.  The Influence of Screen-Readers on Web Cognition , 2008 .

[43]  Barbara Leporini,et al.  Testing google interfaces modified for the blind , 2006, WWW '06.

[44]  Ryen W. White,et al.  Assessing the scenic route: measuring the value of search trails in web logs , 2010, SIGIR.

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

[46]  Gary Marchionini,et al.  A study of real-time query expansion effectiveness , 2006, SIGIR '06.

[47]  David Ellis,et al.  A behavioural model for information retrieval system design , 1989, J. Inf. Sci..

[48]  Joemon M. Jose,et al.  How users assess Web pages for information seeking , 2005, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[49]  Robin Jeffries,et al.  Orienteering in an information landscape: how information seekers get from here to there , 1993, INTERCHI.

[50]  Jan Stage,et al.  What happened to remote usability testing?: an empirical study of three methods , 2007, CHI.