Exploring the information landscape

Abstract

Exploring or browsing is a process of searching in which the user recognizes the object of the search when they see it – a human-driven and unstructured process. To examine this process, three navigational aids are experimentally manipulated: method of access, method of suggesting items to explore and method of navigation. A fourth aid, cues that influence exploration, are also assessed.The object of the study is to characterize browsing, to understand what facilitates browsing in an electronic environment, and to suggest an abstract representation of browsing. KEYwoRDs Exploring, Browsing, Full-text, Newspapers, Navigation, Menus, Fish-eye views, Similarity measures,Informativeness, Information searching, Experimental study