Children's roles using keyword search interfaces at home

ABSTRACT

Children want to find information about their world, but there are barriers to finding what they seek. Young people have varying abilities to formulate multi-step queries and comprehend search results. Challenges in understanding where to type, confusion about what tools are available, and frustration with how to parse the results page all have led to a lack of perceived search success for children 7-11 years old. In this paper, we describe seven search roles children display as information seekers using Internet keyword interfaces, based on a home study of 83 children ages 7, 9, and 11. These roles are defined not only by the children's search actions, but also by who influences their searching, their perceived success, and trends in age and gender. These roles suggest a need for new interfaces that expand the notion of keywords, scaffold results, and develop a search culture among children.

References

1. Beyer, H., and Holtzblatt, K. Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco CA, USA, 1998.
2. Bilal, D. Children's use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine: I. Cognitive, physical, and affective behaviors on fact-based search tasks. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. 51, 7 (2000), 646--665.
3. Bilal, D. Grounding children's information behavior and systems design in child development theories. In Information and Emotion. Bilal, D., and Nahl, D. (eds.), Libraries Unlimited, Westport CN, USA, 2007, 39--50
4. Burdick, T.A. Success and diversity in information seeking: Gender and the information search styles model. School Lib. Media Quar., 25, 1 (1996), 19--26.
5. Cool, C. Information-seeking behaviors of children using electronic information services during early years: 1980--1990. In Youth Information-Seeking Behavior: Context, Theories, and Models, Vol. I. Chelton, M.K., and Cool, C. (eds.), The Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD, USA, 2004, 1--35.
6. Dresang, E.T. Access: The information-seeking behavior of youth in the digital environment. Library Trends: Children's Access and Use of Digital Resources, Druin, A. (ed.) 54, 2 (2005), 178--196.
7. Druin, A., Foss, E., Hatley, L., Golub, E., Guha, M.L., Fails, J., & Hutchinson, H. How children search the Internet with keyword interfaces. In Proceedings of Interaction Design and Children (IDC 2009), Cuomo, Italy.), 89--96.
8. Eisenberg, M.B., and Berkowitz, R.E. Information Problem Solving: The Big Six Skills Approach to Library and Information Instruction. Ablex, Norwood NJ, 1990.
9. Friel, L. The information research process with low-achieving freshmen using Kulthau's Six Stage Model. Doctoral Thesis, University of Massachusetts -- Lowell, Lowell MA, USA, 1995.
10. Hutchinson, H., Druin, A., and Bederson, B. Supporting elementary-age children's searching and browsing: Design and evaluation using the international children's digital library. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 58, 11 (2007), 1618--1630.
11. Kulthau, C.C. Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services (2nd Ed.). Libraries Unlimited, Westport CN, USA, 2004.
12. Large, A., Information seeking on the Web by elementary school students. In Youth Information-Seeking Behavior: Context, Theories, and Models, Vol. I. Chelton, M.K., and Cool, C. (eds.), The Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD, USA, 2004, 293--319.
13. Shenton, A.K. Causes of information-seeking failure: Some highlights from an English research project. In Youth Information-Seeking Behavior: Context, Theories, and Models, Vol. II. Chelton, M.K., and Cool, C. (eds.), The Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD, USA, 2006, 313--364.
14. Shenton, A.K., and Dixon, P. Models of young people's information seeking. J. Librarianship and Inf. Sci,. 35, 1 (2003), 5--22.
15. Strauss, A. Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1987.
16. Tabberer, R. Study and Information Skills in Schools. British Library Research and Development Report 5870, NFER-Nelson, Windsor, Berkshire, UK, 1987.
17. Todd, R. J. Adolescents of the information age. School Libraries Worldwide, 9, 2 (2003), 27--46.
18. Interview protocols. http://sites.google.com/site/blindpaperfiles/sigchi2010-appendix.pdf

Index Terms

• Information systems

  • Information retrieval

    • Information retrieval query processing