A Study on Search Effectiveness: How can we design search tools so end users find it and find it quicker?

Search interfaces are often built without a full understanding of how users search and conduct research. Factors independent of the search interface can have profound effects on the search process and can be easily overlooked. It is important to identify these factors and then develop improvements in search interfaces, processes, and training activities so end users can conduct information searches more effectively and efficiently, enabling users to spend more time using information. A two year collaborative research project with The Dow Chemical Company and researchers at the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is underway to study end users’ search behavior. The project started with a general assessment of available Research & Development (R&D) information research tools at Dow, surveying current Dow end users to determine their searching behavior, and analyzing these results. Following the general survey, a smaller pool of users will participate in individual user experience testing. This testing will utilize both remote unmediated task-based tools and remote moderated interview tools that record all computer use, audio, and video of how individuals search for information and conduct research. The collected data will be triangulated with data collected from the survey. Analysis of the collected behavioral information will lead to enhancements to the search interfaces to existing Dow R&D systems which would be developed, pilot-tested, and deployed, as appropriate.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe