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

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Human-Computer Interaction. Design and User Experience Case Studies (HCII 2021)

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Dania Bilal

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

    Yan Zhang

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  1. Dania Bilal
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  2. Yan Zhang
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Correspondence to Dania Bilal .

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  1. The Open University of Japan, Chiba, Japan

    Masaaki Kurosu

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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

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

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