Tales from the Field: Search Strategies Applied in Web Searching
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Iris Xie; Soohyung Joo
- Source
- Future Internet; Volume 2; Issue 3; Pages: 259-281
Future Internet, Vol 2, Iss 3, Pp 259-281 (2010)
- Subject
- Information retrieval
Web search query
lcsh:T58.5-58.64
Information search process
search tactics
lcsh:Information technology
Computer Networks and Communications
Computer science
business.industry
Search analytics
Search engine indexing
Semantic search
search strategies
web environment
IR system design
World Wide Web
Search engine
Online search
Metasearch engine
business
- Language
- ISSN
- 1999-5903
In their web search processes users apply multiple types of search strategies, which consist of different search tactics. This paper identifies eight types of information search strategies with associated cases based on sequences of search tactics during the information search process. Thirty-one participants representing the general public were recruited for this study. Search logs and verbal protocols offered rich data for the identification of different types of search strategies. Based on the findings, the authors further discuss how to enhance web-based information retrieval (IR) systems to support each type of search strategy.