Stopped yet Completed: Exploring the Relationships between Session-stopping Reasons, Information Types, and Cognitive Activities in Cross-Session Searches
Yuan Li, R. Capra · 2024
The aim of this study is to explore connections among the reasons that lead users to stop a search session, the types of information they found during the session, and the cognitive activities involved in interacting with such information – all in the context of complex tasks involving multiple search sessions. Prior research has primarily examined search-stopping behavior in single search sessions, focusing on instances when users identify needed information or are satisfied with their findings. However, recent insights from the Search as Learning (SAL) community highlight the relationships between user search behavior, the nature of the information they encountered, and various cognitive activities during the information-searching process. We conducted a diary study with 25 participants engaged in real-life tasks that spanned multiple search sessions over time. Our analysis found six predominant reasons users elected to stop a search session during the cross-session search process. We also examined the types of information that participants found and the cognitive activities that they engaged in during search sessions. We found statistically significant associations between the information types found and the session stopping reasons. We did not find significant associations between the cognitive activities and stopping reasons, but did observe that almost half the sessions reached the evaluate level of cognitive activity. Our findings provide insights about search behaviors and help inform the design of tools to support users working on multi-session search tasks.