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Abstract

Because of the extensive use of search engines on the Internet, even small improvements in usability can lead to huge benefits in productivity and effectiveness. Unfortunately, Internet users have consistently shown that they are unable or unwilling to use Boolean operators effectively. This paper presents an investigation of the use of embedded Boolean search hints to improve user search query construction. These hints consist of short, targeted in-line messages that present task-focused instruction on the use of Boolean operators. Three types of help content were studied: semantic, syntactic, and exemplar. The results indicate that inline help can significantly improve performance. However, the improvement was produced only when the content specifically matched the users' needs. Furthermore, some unexpected results suggest that users' experience with other Boolean interfaces can impair performance. Implications for search interface design are discussed.

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Improving User Search with Embedded Boolean Search Hints

Abstract

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