Abstract
The objective of this research is to discover the search state patterns through which users retrieve information in hypertext systems. The Markov model is used to describe users' search behavior. As determined by the log-linear model test, the second-order Markov model is the best model. Search patterns of different user groups were studied by comparing the corresponding transition probability matrices. The comparisons were made based on the following factors: gender, search experience, search task, and the user's academic background. The statistical tests revealed that there were significant differences between all the groups being compared. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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