Compares and contrasts results from two previous studies of Excite queries' data sets and examines how public Web searching changed during that period. Results show shorter queries; fewer queries per user; viewing fewer pages of results per query; an increase in Boolean operators; and more commercial searching topics. (LRW)

Summarizes a presentation that discussed findings and implications of research projects using an Internet search service and Internet-accessible vendor databases, representing the two sides of public database searching: query formulation and resource utilization. Presenters included: Tefko Saracevic, Amanda Spink, Dietmar Wolfram and Hong Xie.…

This experiment used five index languages to form nine different index files to the same collection of documents. Each index term, in each language, was treated in two ways: as an independent English term, and as a coded entry in a faceted-type thesaurus which specified relationships between terms. The performance effect of the thesaurus was then…

This paper reports on a transaction log analysis of 51,473 queries from 18,113 users of Excite, a major World Wide Web search engine. Approximately 2,500 of these queries were from the use of relevance feedback. Given the high level of research activity and historical success of relevance feedback in assisting users in locating relevant…

Examines traditional and interactive models that have emerged in information retrieval (IR), and proposes an interactive IR model based on different levels in the interactive processes. Analyzes strengths and weaknesses of the traditional model. Concludes with general remarks on the state of IR interaction research. (Author/AEF)

Discussion of the selection of search terms during an online search involving users and intermediaries focuses on a study that investigated at what stage of the search process search terms from different sources were selected, how terms were connected with retrieval of relevant answers, and the sequences in which terms were selected. (Contains 16…

Describes a study that analyzed transaction logs of users of Excite, an Internet search service. Highlights include data on sessions (changes in queries, number of pages viewed, and relevance feedback), queries (number of search terms and the use of logic and modifiers), and terms (rank/frequency distribution); user characteristics; and failure…

Synthesizes major findings from research on the magnitude of individual differences in information retrieval (IR) tasks and suggests implications for practice and design of IR systems and interfaces. Topics discussed include indexing consistency, relevance judgments, selection of subject headings, selection of search terms, and search retrievals.…

Reports findings from a study of searching behavior by over 200,000 users of the Excite search engine. Analysis of over one million queries revealed most people use few search terms, few modified queries, view few Web pages, and rarely use advanced search features. Concludes that Web searching by the public differs significantly from searching of…

This report, selected from the results of a larger study of online searching, focuses on the sources of search terms. Terms from users, professional intermediaries, thesauri, and relevance feedback are examined; and the relevance of retrieved items is discussed for each source of search terms as well as for combinations of sources. (12 references)…

Presents a stratified model of information retrieval interaction that views interaction as a dialog between participants (user and computer) through an interface. Discusses traditional and interaction models, and extension to relevance, user modeling, search term selection, and types of feedback in information retrieval. (AEF)

The Comparative Systems Laboratory (CSL) proposed to deal with the problems of testing retrieval systems by examining a number of processes involved in such systems, with particular attention to the human factor. It is hoped that the results of the project will be useful in refining methodologies for experimentation with information retrieval (IR)…

Discussion of human/system interactions that are fundamental to online searching focuses on studies that examined online searchers' performance on DIALOG when they searched specific users' questions. Cognitive tests that were given to searchers are described; and calculating the odds for relevance, precision, and recall is explained. (four…

This two-volume document describes a study which focused on characterizing the elements involved in information seeking and retrieving, particularly in relation to the cognitive decisions and human interactions involved in online information retrieval. The study objectives were to conduct experiments and observations, under conditions as close to…

Three articles describe a series of observations and experiments that examined the user context of questions in information retrieval, the structure and classification of questions, cognitive traits and decision-making searchers, and different searches of the same question. (71 references) (Author/CLB)