Understanding tourists' collaborative information retrieval behavior to inform design

Abstract

With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, people are increasingly referring to web information to assist in their travel planning and decision making. Research shows that people conduct collaborative information searches while planning their travel activities online. However, little is known in depth about tourists' online collaborative search. This study examines tourists' collaborative information search behavior in detail, including their search stages, online search strategies, and information flow breakdowns. The data for analysis included pre‐ and postsearch questionnaires, web search and chat logs, and postsearch interviews. A model of tourist collaborative information retrieval was developed. The model identified collaborative planning, collaborative information searching, sharing of information, and collaborative decision making as four stages of tourists' collaborative search. The results show that tourists collaborated by planning their search strategies, dividing search tasks into subtasks and allocating workload, using search queries and URL links recommended by teammates, and discussing search results together. Related personal knowledge and experiences appeared important in trip planning and collaborative information search. During the collaborative search, tourists also encountered various information flow breakdowns in different search stages. These were classified and their effects on collaborative information search were reported. Implications for system design in support of collaborative information retrieval in travel contexts are also discussed.

Investigating users' affective load in collaborative search

“…Task and Questionnaire Design Three search tasks related to trip planning were designed. To distinguish task complexity, Task 1 required pair-groups to plan a trip to a destination at least one of them had previously visited, whereas Task 2 required the nominated destination to be one that neither of them had visited (Mohammad Arif et al, 2015). More constraints were added in Task 3 to further increase complexity (Byström & Järvelin, 1995).…”

“…Due to the complexity and diversity of search tasks, people often resort to collaborative searching (Shah, 2014). Prior studies have actively explored the patterns of and factors influencing collaborative searching behavior (Mohammad Arif, Du, & Lee, 2015), among which the affective factors are receiving increasing attention (Shah, 2010). In her seminal work, Nahl (2004) conceived affective load theory (ALT) in the field of information behavior.…”

Examining collaborative query reformulation

“…Based on the results of previous studies [6,7] which examined the characteristics and strategies of tourists' collaborative search behavior, we designed a collaborative information search interface -Collaborative Tourism Information Search (ColTIS) -which supports the searching for travel-related information in both standalone (a single user) mode and collaborative mode (multiple users).…”

Characteristics of collaborative information seeking activities during group trip planning: A preliminary study

“…Collaborating with tour mates may facilitate the seeking and locating of relevant information and informing joint decision‐making (Zhang, Sun, and Wagner, ). For example, Mohammad Arif, Du, and Lee () reported that tourists in a travel group communicated with each other in order to learn personal preferences, to facilitate efficient completion of tasks, and to preserve team harmony. However, prior studies examined the reasons for intra‐group collaboration in trip planning but did not examine the characteristics of tourism CIS activities of this phase.…”

“…Collaboration is necessary in many real-life situations. For example, planning a trip with families or friends requires collaboration while they seek and gather information, and make collective decisions to achieve a group holiday (Mohammad Arif, Du, and Lee, 2015). Collaborative information seeking (CIS) describes the process of searching for meaningful information performed by team members to accomplish their collaborative work (Hertzum, 2008;Shah, 2014).…”