Characterizing the Influence of Domain Expertise on Web Search Behavior (original) (raw)
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The Reference Librarian, 2016
The relative contributions of expertise in search skills and domain knowledge were examined when using the Internet to find information. Four conditions were compared: expert searchers/high domain knowledge; expert searchers/low domain knowledge; novice searchers/high domain knowledge; and novice searchers/low domain knowledge. Search outcomes and verbal protocols were analyzed. The combination of search expertise and high domain knowledge yielded the most efficient searches. Higher search expertise yielded access to sites rated more accurate and credible. High domain knowledge yielded sites rated more thorough. Verbal protocols depicted searching as a complex decision process. Findings have implications for instructional support.
Web search behavior of Internet experts and newbies
Computer Networks, 2000
Searching for relevant information on the World Wide Web is often a laborious and frustrating task for casual and experienced users. To help improve searching on the Web based on a better understanding of user characteristics, we investigate what types of knowledge are relevant for Webbased information seeking, and which knowledge structures and strategies are involved. Two experimental studies are presented, which address these questions from different angles and with different methodologies. In the first experiment 12 established Internet experts are first interviewed about search strategies and then perform a series of realistic search tasks on the WWW. From this study a model of information seeking on the WWW is derived and then tested in a second study. In the second experiment two types of potentially relevant types of knowledge are compared directly. Effects of Web experience and domain-specific background knowledge are investigated with a series of search tasks in an economics-related domain (introduction of the EURO currency). We find differential and combined effects of both Web experience and domain knowledge: While successful search performance requires the combination of the two types of expertise, specific strategies directly related to Web experience or domain knowledge can be identified.
Measuring Online Search Expertise
Search expertise has long been studied and used extensively in information seeking behavior research, both as a fundamental concept and as a method of comparing groups of users. Unfortunately, while search expertise has been studied for some time, the conceptualization of it has lagged behind its use in categorizing users. This has led to users who were defined as experts in one study who could be considered novices in another study. Not only does this make it difficult to know how search expertise impacts the issues being studied, it also makes it difficult to compare results between studies. It is clear that search expertise is more important now than ever as the information and misinformation available online grows exponentially. It must first be conceptually designed and modeled, and then it must be operationalized so that it can be reliably measured. This research first examined prior research related to online search expertise and created a working definition and model. One-on...
Searching on the Web: Two Types of Expertise
Efforts to improve Web search facilities call for improved understanding o f user characteristics. We investigated the types of knowledge that are relevant for web-based information seeking, along with the knowledge structures and related strategies. In an exploratory field experiment, 12 established Internet experts were first i nterviewed about search strategies and then p erformed a series of realistic search tasks on the WWW. Based on this preliminary study a model of information searching o n the WWW was derived and tested in a second study. In the second experiment t wo classes of potentially relevant t ypes of knowledge were directly compared. Using a series of search tasks in an economics-related domain (introduction of the EURO currency) we investigated the e ffects of Web experience a nd d omain-specific background knowledge on search strategies. We found independent and combined effects of both Web experience a nd d omain kn owledge, hinting at t he importance of consider...
How experts and novices search the Web
Library & Information Science Research, 2005
Searching for information pervades a wide spectrum of human activity, including learning and problem solving. With recent changes in the amount of information available and the variety of means of retrieval, there is even more need to understand why some searchers are more successful than others. This study was undertaken to advance the understanding of expertise in seeking information on the Web by identifying strategies and attributes that will increase the chance of a successful search on the Web. The strategies were as follows: evaluation, navigation, affect, metacognition, cognition, and prior knowledge, and attributes included age, sex, years of experience, computer knowledge, and infoseeking knowledge. Success was defined as finding a target topic within 30 minutes. Participants were from three groups. Novices were 10 undergraduate pre-service teachers, intermediates were 9 finalyear master of library and information studies students, and experts were 10 highly experienced professional librarians working in a variety of settings. Participants' verbal protocols were transcribed verbatim into a text file and coded. These codes, along with Internet temporary files, a background questionnaire, and a post-task interview were the sources of the data. Since the variable of interest was the time to finding the topic, in addition to ANOVA and Pearson correlation, survival analysis was used to explore the data. The most significant differences in patterns of search between novices and experts were found in the cognitive, metacognitive, and prior knowledge strategies. Survival analysis revealed specific actions associated with success in Web searching: (1) using clear criteria to evaluate sites, (2) not excessively navigating, (3) reflecting on strategies and monitoring progress, (4) having
Proceedings of the 28th international …, 2010
Our study compared how experts and novices performed exploratory search using a traditional search engine and a social tagging system. As expected, results showed that social tagging systems could facilitate exploratory search for both experts and novices. We, however, also found that experts were better at interpreting the social tags and generating search keywords, which made them better at finding information in both interfaces. Specifically, experts found more general information than novices by better interpretation of social tags in the tagging system; and experts also found more domain-specific information by generating more of their own keywords. We found a dynamic interaction between knowledge-in-the-head and knowledge-in-the-social-web that although information seekers are more and more reliant on information from the social Web, domain expertise is still important in guiding them to find and evaluate the information. Implications on the design of social search systems that facilitate exploratory search are also discussed.
Knowledge in the head and on the web: Using topic expertise to aid search
CHI '08
The importance of background knowledge for effective searching on the Web is not well understood. Participants were given trivia questions on two topics and asked to answer them first using background knowledge and second by searching on the Web. Knowledge of a topic predicted search performance on that topic for all questions and, more importantly, for questions for which participants did not already know the answer. In terms of process, greater topic knowledge led to less time being spent on each Webpage, faster decisions to give up a line of inquiry and shorter queries being entered into the search engine. A more complete theory-led understanding of these effects would assist workers in a whole range of Web-related professions.
The effects of expertise and feedback on search term selection and subsequent learning
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2005
Query formation and expansion is an integral part of nearly every effort to search for information. In the work reported here we investigate the effects of domain knowledge and feedback on search term selection and reformation. We explore differences between experts and novices as they generate search terms over 10 successive trials and under two feedback conditions. Search attempts were coded on quantitative dimensions such as the number of unique terms and average time per trial, and as a whole in an attempt to characterize the user's conceptual map for the topic under differing conditions of participant-defined domain expertise. Nine distinct strategies were identified. Differences emerged as a function of both expertise and feedback. In addition, strategic behavior varied depending on prior search conditions. The results are considered from both a theoretical and design perspective, and have direct implications for digital library usability and metadata generation, and query expansion systems.
Behaviour & information …, 2005
The facilitative effect of expertise in hypertext information retrieval tasks (IR) has been widely reported in related literature. However, recent theories of human expertise question the robustness of this result, since previous works have not fully considered the interaction between user and system characteristics. In this study, the constraint attunement hypothesis (CAH) is considered in order to predict that the effect of expertise in IR would appear only when the user and system characteristics can be combined successfully. Results from an experiment revealed that expert users outperformed novice users in IR when the elements of a system interface are organized semantically, but not when organized randomly. Results are discussed in the framework of the CAH supporting the interactive nature of human behaviour in HCI.
2010
The goal of this thesis is to expand the traditional information processing model into the social space by investigating the influence of domain expertise on the use of social information systems. A laboratory-based experiment was conducted to examine the information seeking, sharing, and learning processes of domain experts and novices using a traditional search engine and a social tagging system. Empirical data on information behavior, search strategies, information content and knowledge change were recorded and analyzed. Results showed that domain experts collected and shared more information than novices, providing support to the hypothesis that domain experts benefit more from social information systems. Results also showed that the social information system helped domain novices to find general information and facilitated knowledge learning on novices, but the system did not help them to find as much domain-specific knowledge as domain experts, providing support to the hypothesis that domain knowledge is critical for successful utilization of social cues provided by social information systems. Results from the current study also support the notion that there is a dynamic interaction between knowledge-in-the-head and knowledge-in-the-social-web while people are searching in a social information system. Although information seekers are more and more reliant on accessing information from the World Wide Web, the current results suggest that domain expertise is still important for information seekers to successfully find relevant information in both traditional and social information environments. Implications on the design of future social information systems that facilitate exploratory search are discussed.