Link Depth: Measuring How Far Searchers Explore Web
Yuka Egusa, Masao Takaku, Hitoshi Terai, Hitomi Saito, Makiko Miwa, Noriko Kando · 2010
We focus on clarifying the unique characteristics of seeking behaviors after obtaining results from a search engine. We conducted an experimental study of Web information-seeking behaviors by comparing two different types of tasks by recording browser logs and screen capture video. The participants were 11 undergraduate and 5 graduate students. They were given two tasks: A "Report Task" in which they had to gather information to create a report on world history, and a "Trip Task," in which they had to plan for a trip. The results of analyses of the undergraduate students showed that they viewed more Web pages in the Trip Task than the Report Task. Furthermore, the results of both participant groups showed that for the Trip Task, participants tended to search deeper for pages through numerous links.