QueryCrumbs for Experts: A Compact Visual Query Support System to Facilitate Insights into Search Engine Internals

Search experts use advanced query language and search tactics to formulate their queries. However, the effectiveness of those advanced techniques depends on the search engine internals. We propose QueryCrumbs for Experts, a compact visualization, which facilitates insights to the search engine internals and therefore allows the searcher to determine effective search strategies. Treating the search engine as a black box, QueryCrumbs can be seamlessly integrated into existing search interfaces, guiding the user's exploration and assessment of results. QueryCrumbs for Experts visualize the recent search history alongside with a simple and also a qualitative comparison of the result sets, from which conclusions about the search engine internals can be drawn. The evaluation shows that, by identifying specific patterns in the visualization, expert users can gain valuable insights into search engine internals, empowering them to adapt their search accordingly.