Title
Modeling and analysis of cross-session search tasks
Abstract
The information needs of search engine users vary in complexity, depending on the task they are trying to accomplish. Some simple needs can be satisfied with a single query, whereas others require a series of queries issued over a longer period of time. While search engines effectively satisfy many simple needs, searchers receive little support when their information needs span session boundaries. In this work, we propose methods for modeling and analyzing user search behavior that extends over multiple search sessions. We focus on two problems: (i) given a user query, identify all of the related queries from previous sessions that the same user has issued, and (ii) given a multi-query task for a user, predict whether the user will return to this task in the future. We model both problems within a classification framework that uses features of individual queries and long-term user search behavior at different granularity. Experimental evaluation of the proposed models for both tasks indicates that it is possible to effectively model and analyze cross-session search behavior. Our findings have implications for improving search for complex information needs and designing search engine features to support cross-session search tasks.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1145/2009916.2009922
SIGIR
Keywords
Field
DocType
simple need,search engine feature,multiple search session,search engine user,user query,search engine,long-term user search behavior,cross-session search task,user search behavior,cross-session search behavior,information need,machine learning,satisfiability
Data mining,Web search query,Incremental heuristic search,Metasearch engine,Information needs,Search engine,Semantic search,Information retrieval,Computer science,User modeling,Search analytics
Conference
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
79
2.06
34
Authors
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Alexander Kotov130919.72
Paul N. Bennett2150087.93
Ryen White34546222.75
Susan Dumais4139482130.47
Jaime Teevan54041209.15