An analysis of queries intended to search information for children

Abstract

Query logs contain valuable information about the behavior, interests, and preferences of the users. The analysis of this information can give insight in their interaction and search behavior. In this paper, we analyze queries and groups of queries intended to find information that is suitable for children by using a large-scale query log. The aim of the analysis it twofold: (i) To identify differences in the query space, content space, user sessions, and user click behavior. (ii) To enhance the query log by including annotations of queries, sessions and actions. The paper presents plans to use this resource for further research on information retrieval for children. We found statistically significant differences between the set of general purpose queries, and the set of children queries. We show that many of these differences are consistent with small-scale research studies in which children were observed while using web search engines.