Task, Information Seeking Intentions, and User Behavior: Toward A Multi-level Understanding of Web Search

Abstract

According to the cognitive viewpoint of information retrieval (IR) research, a search task can be conceptualized as a sequence of information seeking intentions which both motivate and are influenced by search behaviors. While the behavioral effects of task features have been thoroughly discussed in a large body of literature, how different information seeking intentions in query segments serve as bridges between task and Web search behavior still remains unexplored. To develop a more comprehensive, multi-level (i.e., task level, intention level, and behavior level) understanding of Web search, the authors analyzed intention and search behavior data collected from 693 query segments generated by 40 participants in a controlled lab setting, seeking to answer two main research questions: 1) from task to intention : how do different task features affect users' information seeking intentions at different stages of a search session? 2) from intention to behavior : How is a user's search behavior associated with their information seeking intentions in the current and next query segments respectively? The results demonstrate that: 1) Task features significantly affected the frequency of occurrence of most of the information seeking intentions, and these effects gradually faded away as search sessions proceeded; 2) The presences of a variety of intentions in both current and subsequent query segments were connected with and detectable by different subsets of behavioral measures. This study contributes to the understanding of the connections between task, intentions in query segments, and search behavior, and thereby has implications for designing system affordances for supporting different intentions and search activities in various task stages and contexts.