"Draw me the Web": impact of mental model of the web on information search performance of young users

Abstract

The aim of this experiment conducted with 51 French children was to understand the relationships between children's information search performances and their mental model of the Web. Each participant was individually asked (a) to complete a demographic questionnaire asking experience with the Web, (b) to draw a picture of her/his perception about the Web, and (c) to perform two search tasks. The results showed that several mental models existed for young users about the Web, independently of their experience with the Web. Moreover, the results confirmed that mental model of the Web could have an effect on the performance.