Multitasking Web search on Vivisimo.com

A user's single session with a Web search engine may consist of seeking information on either single or multiple topics. Most Web search sessions consist of two queries of two words. We present findings from a study of sessions on the Vivisimo Web search engine to examine the degree of multitasking search by typical Web searchers. Findings show that 11.1% of search sessions were multitasking searches, and there are a broad variety of search topics in multitasking search sessions. The paper proposes that on various levels, Web search can be conceptualized at different levels as a multitasking activity. The implications of our findings for Web design and further research are discussed.