Cognition: Human–Computer Communication - Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems - page 209

many buildings is a large photocopier/printer, which can produce literally reams 2
of information. The photocopier/printer's output is important because the results—
the information—are processed more deeply by people than most computers will
process the information passed through them.
7.4.3 Human Information Seeking Behavior
Human information seeking behavior can be viewed in several ways. One way to
approach it is to ask ''how do users search for information, particularly on the
Internet?'' Spink and her colleagues in information science have studied this area
extensively (e.g., Spink and Cole 2001 ). They found that users seek information
often, and from multiple sources. Different types of users search for different types
of information, which is not so surprising, but they also seek it in different ways,
look in different places, and trust the sources in different ways. Trends in what
users search for can be identified, typically by studying user logs (Jansen and
Spink 2006 ). Important trends have been found in this way, such as a shift towards
more eCommerce queries and a rise in non-English queries over the period
1997-2001 (Spink et al. 2002 ). Work in this area has also examined how different
types of groups use information (Barnes et al. 1996 ). The results have been used to
make prescriptive statements about how to help groups.
Observational studies have examined how users search, including how many
errors they make, how well they use the search tools (such as using the connectors
'and' and 'or'), and how many searches they do in parallel (Jansen and Spink
2006 ; Spink et al. 2002 ). Some researchers have argued that users do not search
very deeply (Nielsen 1997 ), and others, with more detailed studies have found that
some users will search quite deeply (Byrne et al. 1999 ). Byrne et al.'s research
involved analyzing the tasks users were performing, and how web browsing fitted
into those tasks. They found that the task influenced how long and how deeply
users searched. In particular, medical information, work-related, and certain hobby
searches can go quite deep over hours or days, and some searches are shallow. To
support a wide range of users it is therefore important to understand them and the
tasks they are performing, because different users will have different capabilities
and needs when searching for information at different times.
7.4.4 Information Scent
The concept of information scent (Pirolli 1997 , 2007 ) can also be exploited in
helping users find the information they are looking for. Information scent is what
2 A ream is 500 sheets of paper. Most photocopy and printing paper is sold in reams; thus the
saying, reams of material.