The influence of mental models and goals on search patterns during Web interaction

Abstract

This article reports on a study that uses a new analysis and display tool to examine the influences of understanding the system and goals on end-user Internet searching. Thirty-one public library users were observed searching the Web and/or a Web-based on-line catalog. The study identified four user categories, distinguished by the number of search approaches employed. These included linking, use of search engines, URL use, on-line catalog searching, and searching within a specific Web-site domain. Results conclude that experience and motivation, elements of situational goals and mental models, work in tandem to determine search approaches, Web sites visited, and sources used. People who sought information for job-related or educational purposes were highly motivated. Thus, they were persistent. Those who had a great deal of Internet experience used an array of tools; while those with immature mental models of the Internet relied more heavily on the Web on-line catalog or off-line sources. People seeking information for recreational or personal use were not highly motivated. Whether experienced or not, they relied on serendipity, linking, and other tasks that were not cognitively overbearing. When searching became too difficult, they abandoned the Internet as an information source. Introduction and BackgroundThe growth of the Internet has greatly redefined and expanded access to electronic information in libraries. In particular, the change in technology from on-line catalogs with vendor front ends that only display library holdings to Internet capability represents what Dennis, Carter, and Bordeleianu (1997) deem a paradigm shift in library hosted access to information. This expansion, coupled with the increasing importance of the Internet as an information source, demands that care be taken to assure access to all citizens.Public libraries provide, to a great number of citizens, physical access to the Internet (Bertot & McClure, 1999; McConnaughey, Evenette, Reynolds, & Lader, 1999). However, because a different mental model is required for Internet use than for older library technology, effective use might be limited (Hill, 1997;Saxon, 1997). For instance, unlike older systems, the Internet is decentralized, consisting of a huge amount of information of varying quality from numerous sources with varied indexing rules (Ercegovac, 1997;Jackson, 1994;Walker & Janes, 1999). The effect of this on end-user access to information is not yet known, but in light of the complexities inherent in on-line searching (Borgman, 1996;Dickson, 1984;Lewis, 1987; Matthews, Lawrence, & Ferguson, 1983;Peters, 1989;Solomon, 1994;Tolle, 1983), it is imperative that we understand the elements that might affect Internet accessibility.This article reports results from a study that used Web on-line catalog users as a control group to determine factors influencing search and navigational patterns of Internet users. It focuses on user understanding of the system by looking at mental models, expectations, and experience. It also examines u...

Children, teenagers, and the Web

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How Influential Are Mental Models on Interaction Performance? Exploring the Gap between Users’ and Designers’ Mental Models through a New Quantitative Method

“…Sasse [36] noted the significant effects of mental models on user performance using Excel. Slone [37] found that users' mental models affected their performance on websites. Brandt and Uden [38] pointed out that novices without strong mental models for information retrieval could not gather information successfully.…”

A busca de informação na Internet: um estudo do comportamento de bibliotecários e estudantes de ensino médio

“…Ainda que a Internet venha favorecendo a criação e o desenvolvimento de recursos de acesso à informação, mediada por dispositivos de processamento automático da linguagem natural (González de Goméz, 2004), e apesar do desenvolvimento dessa área, tanto as atuais ferramentas de buscas da Internet como os antigos sistemas de recuperação da informação estruturados (bases de dados, CD-ROM e catálogos de acesso público) baseiam-se nos mesmos princípios de recuperação da informação (Jansen et al, 2000;Slone, 2002). Isso significa que os usuários são obrigados a dialogar com as bases de dados e com a informação nos termos daquelas bases.…”