This study sought to better understand search performance using an online portal containing a collection of heterogeneous library resources for K-12 students. Search performance is examined in terms of search success, search time, strategy, and effort. This study revealed unsuccessful searches tended to take longer than successful searches;…

Discusses changes of focus, or interaction shifts, (readily observed in mediated database searching) between search intermediaries and users during information retrieval interactions. Presents results in terms of frequency of shifts in each interaction; classification scheme for shifts; frequency of shifts for each class; and intensity of focus on…

Investigates how interaction between users and search intermediaries reveals aspects of user information problems and how users and search intermediaries focus on aspects of user information problems during online searches. Six categories were observed: documents; evaluation of search results; search strategies; information retrieval system;…