[Sigia-l] References for search quotes

[Listera]

> So it's not that "advanced search makes search less successful" but rather
> that those users who opt for advanced search are also those less likely to
> find what they're after.


"However, in our data, we found that users who utilized advanced search
rarely found their desired content. Use of advanced search functionality
actually predicts failure of the task.

It turns out that following this guideline (making advanced search more
visible) will potentially decrease the usability of the site. Those designs
that didn't provide advanced search actually did better in our testing."


This is so generalized that, out of context, it is pretty much meaningless.
It depends on, among others, who's doing the searching, what's being
searched, how the info is organized, how the search engine is structured
and, above all, what the interface to the Advanced Search looks like. You
can surely inundate the user with enough options to confuse or drastically
reduce result sets, in which case the link to Advanced Search may end up
being less than productive. Or Advanced Search may simply provide, say, a
single additional filter like date range or a domain selection, which can
drastically increase the relevancy of the result set.


"This means that following untested guidelines is like drinking water from
an unidentified source. It might quench your thirst, but it could also make
you very ill."


Like so many "studies" that get repeated enough times to evolve into "rules"
this one, too, doesn't come close to breaking the one cardinal rule: it
depends.


Ziya
Nullius in Verba