Using Information Foraging Theory to Understand Search Behavior in Different Environments

Abstract

The aim of this research proposal is to understand the extent in which Information Scent, part of Information Foraging Theory, influence the perception of relevance of retrieved search engine result pages (SERPs) in different environments (desktop and mobile). %We intend to study this influence by observing information seekers' behavior when they are searching for topics on a typical search engine. Firstly, we planned to investigate how previously found correlations between information scent and search behavior on desktop SERPs may also applicable on mobile. Secondly, we investigate if the differences in search behavior are also caused by SERP visibility and/or physical input behavior in different environments. Lastly, we would like to observe the extent in which changing snippet length can affect web search behavior. The perception of relevance on SERPs might be similar in both environments because the arrangement of SERPs on both mobile and desktop are identical; or different because the visibility of search results is less on mobile compared to desktop, due to limited screen sizes. We wanted to study the extent of which the physical limitations might significantly impact search behavior in different environments due to expected ``hidden scent. We conducted two user studies to observe these phenomenon and seek to understand search behavior by manipulating the SERPs presented to users. We observed both similarities and differences in web search behavior between the environments. On the desktop, increasing information scent led to lower positions of search results saved as relevant and lower positions of mouse hover. However, on mobile, increasing relevant search results beyond the initial screen size reduced number of documents examined.