Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

HCII 2021: Human-Computer Interaction. Design and User Experience Case Studies pp 253–270Cite as

Teens’ Conceptual Understanding of Web Search Engines: The Case of Google Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs)

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12764))

Abstract

We explored teens’ (aged 15–17) conceptual understanding of search engines (SEs), emphasizing search engine result pages (SERPs). In an online survey, we asked teens to articulate how a search engine (SE) finds, generates summaries of, and ranks search results; identify the structural components of search results; comment on learning in school about SEs; as well as provide suggestions for improving SEs. Of one-hundred and ten teens, twenty-two completed the survey. Analyses revealed that teens’ conceptual understanding of SERPs is more perceptual than conceptual and guided by incidental and experiential learnings rather than systematic instruction in school. We found a gap between teens’ understanding of the design and representation of the structural components of search results and Google designers’ conceptual model (interface design) of these components, suggesting the need for design that is more transparent and with better affordances and signifiers. Teens suggested three categories of design improvements in Google (SERPs, Search and Retrieval, and Privacy) in support of enhancing their experiences. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Norman, D.: The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, New York (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Lewandowski, D.: The retrieval effectiveness of web search engines: considering results descriptions. J. Doc. 64(6), 915–937 (2008)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Marcos, M.-C., Gavin, F., Arapakis, I.: Effect of snippets on user experience in web search. In: Proceedings of the XVI International Conference on Human Computer Interaction, pp. 1–8 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Kelly, D., Azzopardi, L.: How many results per page? A study of SERP size, search behavior and user experience. In: Proceedings of the 38th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 183–192 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Maxwell, D., Azzopardi, L., Moshfeghi, Y.: A study of snippet length and informativeness: behaviour, performance and user experience. In: Proceedings of the 40th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 135–144 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Kammerer, Y., Gerjets, P.: The role of search result position and source trustworthiness in the selection of web search results when using a list or a grid interface. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 30(3), 177–191 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Pan, B., Hembrooke, H., Joachims, T., Lorigo, L., Gay, G., Granka, L.: In Google we trust: users’ decisions on rank, position and relevancy. J. Comput.-Mediat. Commun. 1, 12(3), 801–823 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Azzopardi, L., Thomas, P., Craswell, N.: Measuring the utility of search engine result pages: an information foraging based measure. In: The 41st International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 605–614 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kanungo, T., Orr, D.: Predicting the readability of short web summaries. In: Proceedings of the Second ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining, pp. 202–211 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Collins-Thompson, K.: Computational assessment of text readability: a survey of current and future research. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. 165(2), 97–135 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bilal, D., Gwizdka, J.: Children’s eye-fixations on Google search results. Proc. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 53(1), 1–6 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gossen, T.: Search Engines for Children: Search User Interfaces and Information-Seeking Behaviour. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Dinet, J., Bastien, J.C., Kitajima, M.: What, where and how are young people looking for in a search engine results page? Impact of typographical cues and prior domain knowledge. In: Proceedings of the 22nd Conference on l’Interaction Homme-Machine, pp. 105–112 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Gossen, T., Höbel, J., Nürnberger, A.: A comparative study about children’s and adults’ perception of targeted web search engines. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1821–1824 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Gwizdka, J., Bilal, D.: Analysis of children’s queries and click behavior on ranked results and their thought processes in google search. In: Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Conference Human Information Interaction and Retrieval, pp. 377–380 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hautala, J., Kiili, C., Kammerer, Y., Loberg, O., Hokkanen, S., Leppänen, P.H.: Sixth graders’ evaluation strategies when reading internet search results: an eye-tracking study. Behav. Inf. Technol. 37(8), 761–773 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Bilal, D., Gwizdka, J.: Children’s query types and reformulations in Google search. Inf. Process. Manag. 54(6), 1022–1041 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Druin, A., et al.: How children search the internet with keyword interfaces. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, pp. 89–96 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Foss, E., Druin, A., Yip, J., Ford, W., Golub, E., Hutchinson, H.: Adolescent search roles. J. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. Technol. 64(1), 173–189 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kammerer, Y., Bohnacker, M.: Children’s web search with Google: the effectiveness of natural language queries. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, pp. 184–187 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Rutter, S., Ford, N., Clough, P.: How do children reformulate their search queries? Inf. Res. Int. Electron. J. 20(1), 149–157 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Agosto, D.E.: Bounded rationality and satisficing in young people’s web-based decision making. J. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. Technol. 53(1), 16–27 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. 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), 646–665 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Braasch, J.L.: Advances in research on internal and external factors that guide adolescents’ reading and learning on the Internet. J. Study Educ. Dev. 43(1), 210–241 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Cole, C., Beheshti, A., Abulhimd, D., Lamoureux, I.: The end game in Kuhlthau’s ISP model: knowledge construction for grade 8 students researching an inquiry-based history project. J. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 66(11), 2219–2266 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Julien, H., Barker, S.: How high-school students find and evaluate scientific information: a basis for information literacy skills development. Libr. Inf. Sci. Res. 31(1), 12–17 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Large, A., Beheshti, J.: The web as a classroom resource: reactions from the users. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. 51(12), 1069–1080 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Metzger, M.J., Flanagin, A.J., Markov, A., Grossman, R., Bulger, M.: Believing the unbelievable: understanding young people’s information literacy beliefs and practices in the United States. J. Child. Media 9(3), 325–348 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Subramaniam, M., Taylor, N.G., Jean, B.S., Follman, R., Kodama, C., Casciotti, D.: As simple as that?: tween credibility assessment in a complex online world. J. Doc. 71(3), 550–571 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Meyers, E.M.: When search is (mis) learning: analyzing inference failures in student search tasks. Proc. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 55(1), 357–366 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Azpiazu, I.M., Dragovic, N., Anuyah, O., Pera, M.S.: Looking for the movie seven or sven from the movie frozen? A multi-perspective strategy for recommending queries for children. In: Proceedings of the 2018 Conference on Human Information Interaction & Retrieval, pp. 92–101 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Fails, J.A., Pera, M.S., Anuyah, O., Kennington, C., Wright, K.L., Bigirimana, W.: Query formulation assistance for kids: what is available, when to help & what kids want. In: Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children, pp. 109–120 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Gossen, T., Nitsche, M., Vos, J., Nürnberger, A.: Adaptation of a search user interface towards user needs: a prototype study with children & adults. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval, pp. 1–10 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Large, A., Nesset, V., Beheshti, J., Bowler, L.: “Bonded design”: a novel approach to intergenerational information technology design. Libr. Inf. Sci. Res. 28(1), 64–82 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Bilal, D.: Comparing Google’s readability of search results to the Flesch readability formulae: a preliminary analysis on children’s search queries. Proc. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 50(1), 1–9 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Bilal, D., Huang, L.-M.: Readability and word complexity of SERPs snippets and web pages on children’s search queries. Aslib J. Inf. Manag. 71(2), 241–259 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Vajjala, S., Meurers, D.: On the applicability of readability models to web texts. In: Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Predicting and Improving Text Readability for Target Reader Populations, pp. 59–68 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Krug, S.: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd edn. New Riders, Indianapolis (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Chen, H., Dumais, S.: Bringing order to the web: automatically categorizing search results. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 145–152 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Chen, W.-F., Hagen, M., Stein, B., Potthast, M.: A user study on snippet generation: text reuse vs. paraphrases. In: The 41st International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research & Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 1033–1036 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Kim, J., Thomas, P., Sankaranarayana, R., Gedeon, T., Yoon, H.-J.: What snippet size is needed in mobile web search? In: Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Conference Human Information Interaction and Retrieval, pp. 97–106 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Tombros, A., Sanderson, M.: Advantages of query biased summaries in information retrieval. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, pp. 2–10 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Spirin, N.V., Kotov, A.S., Karahalios, K.G., Mladenov, V., Izhutov, P.A.: A comparative study of query-biased and non-redundant snippets for structured search on mobile devices. In: Proceedings of the 25th ACM International on Conference on Information and Knowledge Management, pp. 2389–2394 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Spink, A., Danby, S., Mallan, K., Butler, C.: Exploring young children’s web searching and technoliteracy. J. Doc. 66(2), 191–206 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Jochmann-Mannak, H., Huibers, T., Lentz, L., Sanders, T.: Children searching information on the Internet: performance on children’s interfaces compared to Google. In: SIGIR Workshop on Accessible Search Systems, vol. 10, pp. 27–35 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Kodama, C., Jean, B.S., Subramaniam, M., Taylor, N.G.: There’s a creepy guy on the other end at Google!: engaging middle school students in a drawing activity to elicit their mental models of Google. Inf. Retrieval J. 20(5), 403–432 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Lewandowski, D., Kammerer, Y.: Factors influencing viewing behaviour on search engine results pages: a review of eye-tracking research. Behav. Inf. Technol. 1–31 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Strzelecki, A.: Eye-tracking studies of web search engines: a systematic literature review. Information 11(6) (2020). https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/11/6/300

  49. Vibert, N., et al.: Adolescents’ developing sensitivity to orthographic and semantic cues during visual search for words. Front. Psychol. 10, Article 642 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Lorigo, L., et al.: Eye tracking and online search: lessons learned and challenges ahead. J. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. Technol. 59(7), 1041–1052 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Druin, A., Foss, E., Hutchinson, H., Golub, E., Hatley, L.: Children’s roles using keyword search interfaces at home. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 413–422 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Foss, E., et al.: Children’s search roles at home: Implications for designers, researchers, educators, and parents. J. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. Technol. 63(3), 558–573 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Schultheiß, S., Sünkler, S., Lewandowski, D.: We still trust in Google, but less than 10 years ago: an eye-tracking study. Inf. Res. 23(3) (2018). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1196314.pdf

  54. Bhattacherjee, A.: Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. Global Text Project (2012). http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3

  55. Zhang, Y., Wildemuth, B.M.: Qualitative analysis of content. In: Wildemuth, B.M. (ed.) Applications of Social Research Methods to Questions in Information and Library Science, 2nd edn, pp. 318–329. Libraries Unlimited (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  56. Marsick, V.J., Watkins, K.: Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace. Routledge, New York (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Kolb, D.A.: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall, River (1984)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Dania Bilal

  2. University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78701, USA

    Yan Zhang

Authors
  1. Dania Bilal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dania Bilal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University of Japan, Chiba, Japan

    Masaaki Kurosu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Bilal, D., Zhang, Y. (2021). Teens’ Conceptual Understanding of Web Search Engines: The Case of Google Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). In: Kurosu, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction. Design and User Experience Case Studies. HCII 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12764. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78468-3_18

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78468-3_18

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78467-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78468-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation