Ordinary Search Engine Users Carrying Out Complex Search Tasks

TL;DR

This study investigates how complex search tasks differ from simple ones, whether success can be predicted by measurable behaviors, and how user success correlates with search behavior, providing insights for improving search engine design.

Contribution

The paper identifies key behavioral differences in complex search tasks and proposes measurable parameters to predict search success, advancing understanding of user search behavior.

Findings

Complex tasks have distinct behavioral characteristics.

Successful search behavior is difficult to predict.

Good searchers can be distinguished by measurable parameters.

Abstract

Web search engines have become the dominant tools for finding information on the Internet. Due to their popularity, users apply them to a wide range of search needs, from simple look-ups to rather complex information tasks. This paper presents the results of a study to investigate the characteristics of these complex information needs in the context of Web search engines. The aim of the study is to find out more about (1) what makes complex search tasks distinct from simple tasks and if it is possible to find simple measures for describing their complexity, (2) if search success for a task can be predicted by means of unique measures, and (3) if successful searchers show a different behavior than unsuccessful ones. The study includes 60 people who carried out a set of 12 search tasks with current commercial search engines. Their behavior was logged with the Search-Logger tool. The results confirm that complex tasks show significantly different characteristics than simple tasks. Yet it seems to be difficult to distinguish successful from unsuccessful search behaviors. Good searchers can be differentiated from bad searchers by means of measurable parameters. The implications of these findings for search engine vendors are discussed.