Visualizing Evolving Searches with EvoBerry

Studies show that roughly one-third of searches that are performed on the Web require the user to initiate subsequent searches. Bates theorized that with every search the user will encounter new information, which in turn leads to new ideas and directions. This process causes a change, not simply in the query terms being used but also to the nature of the information retrieval task itself; Bates called this the evolving search. She also noted that evolving searches utilize many different information sources, generate substantial quantities of data and require easy methods to save and recall data. Although current search tools are exceptionally efficient at locating highly ranked pages, the tools do not encourage or support the user in an evolving search. In this paper we present techniques that aid users to find, view and manage data produced from their evolving searches. In particular, we introduce the EvoBerry environment, which we have developed for use with evolving searches. EvoBerry includes methods to visualize additional search result information (such as length of page or file type), manage the user's session and browsing history, compare result sets, and store and bookmark items for future reference.