A visit to the information mall: Web searching behavior of high school students

This article analyzes Web searching behavior for home-work assignments of high school students through field observations in class and at the terminal with students thinking aloud, and through interviews with various par-ticipants, including the teacher and librarian. Students performed focused searching and progressed through a search swiftly and flexibly. They used landmarks and assumed that one can always start a new search and ask for help. They were satisfied with their searches and the results, but impatient with slow response. The students enjoyed searching the Web because it had a variety of formats, it showed pictures, it covered a multitude of subjects and it provided easy access to information. Difficulties and problems students encountered empha-size the need for training to all involved, and for a system design that is based on user seeking and searching behavior