The goal of this paper is to provide guidance to researchers investigating exploratory search behaviors and exploratory search systems. It focuses on the design of search tasks assigned in such studies. Based on a review of past studies, a set of task characteristics associated with exploratory search tasks are identified: exploratory search tasks focus on learning and investigative search goals; they are general (rather than specific), open-ended, and often target multiple items/documents; they involve uncertainty and are motivated by ill-defined or ill-structured problems; they are dynamic and evolve over time; they are multi-faceted and may be procedurally complex; and they are often accompanied by other information or cognitive behaviors, such as sensemaking. Recommendations are provided for the design of search task descriptions that will elicit exploratory search behaviors.

Abstract. The purpose of this research is to examine how search differs according to selected task variables. Three types of task information goals and two types of task structures were explored. This mixed within-and between-subjects designed study had 96 participants complete three of 12 tasks in a laboratory setting using a specialized search system based on Lucene. Using a combination metrics (user perception collected by questionnaires, transaction log data, and characteristics of relevant documents), we assessed the effect of goals and structure on search as demonstrated through queries and their use in interactive searching.

Information seeking in the workplace can vary substantially from one search to the next due to changes in the context of the search. Modeling these dynamic contextual effects is an important challenge facing the research community because it has the potential to lead to more responsive search systems. With this motivation, a study of software engineers was conducted to understand the role that contextual factors play in shaping their information‐seeking behavior. Research was conducted in the field in a large technology company and comprised six unstructured interviews, a focus group, and 13 in‐depth, semistructured interviews. Qualitative analysis revealed a set of contextual factors and related information behaviors. Results are formalized in the contextual model of source selection, the main contributions of which are the identification of two types of conditioning variables (requirements and constraints) that mediate between the contextual factors and source‐selection decisions, and the articulation of dominant source‐selection patterns. The study has implications for the design of context‐sensitive search systems in this domain and may inform contextual approaches to information seeking in other professional domains.

Purpose – One core element of interactive information retrieval (IIR) experiments is the assignment of search tasks. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical review of current practice in developing those search tasks to test, observe or control task complexity and difficulty. Design/methodology/approach – Over 100 prior studies of IIR were examined in terms of how each defined task complexity and/or difficulty (or related concepts) and subsequently interpreted those concepts in the development of the assigned search tasks. Findings – Search task complexity is found to include three dimensions: multiplicity of subtasks or steps, multiplicity of facets, and indeterminability. Search task difficulty is based on an interaction between the search task and the attributes of the searcher or the attributes of the search situation. The paper highlights the anomalies in our use of these two concepts, concluding with suggestions for future methodological research related to search task complexity and difficulty. Originality/value – By analyzing and synthesizing current practices, this paper provides guidance for future experiments in IIR that involve these two constructs.

This paper reports on a study of digital reading that investigates the effects of different textual environments on information interaction and comprehension outcomes. While there is a large body of literature that compares print and digital reading, research that compares differently designed digital reading environments is limited. Such work can inform the design of information and search systems intended to support learning. This study investigated the effects of two design dimensions: Text Presentation (Plain Text vs In-Context) and Interactivity (availability of Reading Tools). Results show that the simplest textual environment (Plain Text presentation with no Interactivity) was associated with the highest comprehension outcomes, but that Interactivity mitigated the negative effects of texts presented In-Context. Both time spent reading and certain reading behaviours varied to some extent by condition and may be associated with comprehension; however, personal characteristics of the readers played little to no role in determining outcomes.