Abstract
This paper reports on an examination of why information searchers find search tasks difficult and the specific reasons they feel difficult. Data was collected through a controlled laboratory experiment with 32 participants, each working with 4 search tasks. They were asked in questionnaires, both before and after the tasks, for task difficulty ratings and their reasoning for giving those ratings. We developed a coding scheme based on the difficulty reasons users gave, which covered various aspects of task, user, and user-task interaction. This helps us understand search task difficulty, as well as provides a scheme for task difficulty control in experiment task design.
Original language | English (US) |
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Journal | Proceedings of the ASIST Annual Meeting |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Task difficulty reason categories
- Task features
- Topic knowledge
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Information Systems
- Library and Information Sciences