Multitasking Web Search on Vivisimo.com

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Multitasking Web Search on Vivisimo.com
Amanda Spink Sherry Koshman University of
Pittsburgh Bernard J. Jansen The Pennsylvania
State University
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Changing Assumptions

• Most Web IR systems based on single-topic
  paradigm
• Multitasking - Information seeking and searching
  processes on more than one topic concurrently

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Multitasking Concurrent Information Problems

• Humans are often searching the Web for
  information on more than one topic
  concurrently
• Psychologists explore 2 dual task or
  multitasking information processing
• Search topics may be related or distinct, e.g.,
  (1) gardening (2) prozac use by children

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Recent Studies

• Studies show multitasking by IR system and Web
  users Spink, Ozmutlu Ozmutlu (2002), Ozmutlu,
  Ozmultu Spink (2003a, b)
• Studies with Excite and AlltheWeb.com
• Alta Vista data - Spink, Park, Jansen Pedersen

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Findings

• Multitasking Web search sessions are common user
  behavior
• Multitasking Web search sessions are longer
• Mean of 3 topics per multitasking Web search

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Research Goal

• Further examine the prevalence and
  characteristics of multitasking Web searching on
  different Web search engines
• Using Vivisimo Web query data

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Research Design

• Vivisimo Web query log
• One week period from 24 March 2004 4 April
  2004
• 100 traffic
• Total sessions - 279,995 search sessions
• Qualitative analysis of random sample of 2960
  sessions

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Vivisimo Data
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Topic Changes in Multitasking Sessions
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Topics in Multitasking Sessions
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Discussion

• Not as many Vivisimo multitasking search sessions
  as Alta Vista users
• Prevalence of multitasking varied across
  different Web search engines
• Multitasking over various topics is a fairly
  common behavior on Web search engines

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Discussion

• Web search is a multitasking process on two
• First, on an interactive search task level,
  people construct a Web search session as a series
  of tasks, including search term selection,
  relevance judgments, etc. as an interplay of Web
  search tasks.
• On a second level, people engage in multitasking
  information behaviors or are seeking information
  on more than one topic concurrently.

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Discussion

• Effective Web search is constructed as
  successfully coordinated switching between
  different tasks.
• To achieve Web search, users coordinate a number
  of tasks, including their cognitive state, level
  of domain knowledge, and their understanding of
  their information problem, into a coherent series
  of activities that may include seeking,
  searching, interactive browsing and retrieving
  and constructing information.

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Conclusion

• Research is currently being conducted to
  examine
• 1. How users construct multitasking Web search
  sessions
• 2. If a user's information-seeking stage affects
  the number and performance of multitasking
  searches.
• 3. The relationship between the nature of the
  users information problems and how they are
  coordinated Web search.

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QUESTIONS??

• Thank You