Why textual search interfaces fail: a study of cognitive skills needed to construct successful queries
Gerd Berget, Frode Eika Sandnes · NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives · 2019
Introduction. It has been suggested that cognitive characteristics may affect search. This study investigated how decoding abilities, short-term memory capacity and rapid automatised naming skills relate to query formulation. Method. A total of twenty dyslexic participants and twenty non-dyslexic controls completed four standardised cognitive tests and solved ten search tasks in a Norwegian library catalogue. Analysis. The relationships between search patterns and cognitive profiles were explored using correlation analysis. Results. Results show that decoding skills relate to query lengths and spelling errors, short-term memory relates to the number of iteration cycles, and rapid automatised naming relates to query times. Conclusion. Search interfaces should be robust to errors in short queries to accommodate users with reduced cognitive function.