A Task-Based Evaluation of an Aggregated Search Interface

Abstract. This paper presents a user study that evaluated the effectiveness of an aggregated search interface in the context of non-navigational search tasks. An experimental system was developed to present search results aggregated from multiple information sources, and compared to a conventional tabbed interface. Sixteen participants were recruited to evaluate the performance of the two interfaces. Our results suggest that the aggregated search interface is a promising way of supporting nonnavigational search tasks. The quantity and diversity of the retrieved items which participants accessed to complete a task, increased in the aggregated interface. Participants also found the aggregated presentation easier to access to retrieved items and to find relevant information, compared to the conventional interface.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: SPIRE
• Authors: Shanu Sushmita, Hideo Joho, Mounia Lalmas
• Keywords: Conventional Tabbed Interface, Information Retrieval, Search Interface, Search Tasks, SPIRE 2009