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Search results retrieved from textual databases may be presented in several ways. In commercial search engines, the most common method is the presentation of a list that includes the titles of the retrieved documents, and, sometimes, the first few lines of each document and additional information. A series of studies at the Hebrew University examined the impact of different textual elements presented to the user on the effectiveness of the search. In the current experiment, presentation of search results in the Google-based Yahoo! interface was compared to presentation of search results in the LCC&K (Line in Context, Categories, & Keywords) interface that was developed consequent to the findings of a previous series of studies.
The findings indicate a distinct advantage to the LCC&K interface in terms of objective components (such as duration of search time), and subjective components (such as the user’s increasing sense of confidence as the search progressed that it would yield the correct answer, the user’s sense of comfort, the extent to which the interface can mislead the user, etc.). This paper will address the experiment process and its findings.
