This is your cue! assisting search behaviour with resource style properties

Abstract

When learning a software technology, programmers face a large variety of resources in different styles and catering to different requirements. Although search engines are helpful to filter relevant resources, programmers are still required to manually go through a number of resources before they find one pertinent to their needs. Prior work has largely concentrated on helping programmers find the precise location of relevant information within a resource. Our work focuses on helping programmers assess the pertinence of resources to differentiate between resources. We investigated how programmers find learning resources online via a diary and interview study, and observed that programmers use certain cues to determine whether to access a resource. Based on our findings, we investigate the extent to which we can support the cue-following process via a prototype tool. Our research supports programmers’ search behaviour for software technology learning resources to inform resource creators on important factors that programmers look for during their search.