Search Query Formulation in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D., Student, Department of Knolwedge and Information Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Knolwedge and Information Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Purpose: This research aims to systematically review the studies conducted on the issue of search query formulation behavior in children and adolescents in order to identify the obstacles and search formulation solutions.
Methods: This research was conducted with a systematic review method based on the list presented in the research of Xu, Kang & Song (2015). For this purpose, studies in the field of query formulation in children and adolescents were identified in Persian databases and reliable English databases. Finally, 2 Persian and 45 English studies were selected to do the final review and answer the research questions.
Findings: The results showed that in the process of formulating the search query of children and teenagers, poor spelling, lack of typing skills, low domain knowledge, limited vocabulary, low cognitive ability, lack of skill in evaluating and selecting the retrieved results, relying on overview search, using natural language keywords, inability to use logical operators, weakness in re-formulating queries, low ability in complex tasks are the most important obstacles and problems faced by children and teenagers in formulating search queries. Designing a suitable user interface for children and teenagers by using visual and audio interfaces, spelling control tools, and query suggestions and teaching children and teenagers how to use the user interface and formulating search queries are presented as solutions to remove the obstacles in formulating search queries.
Conclusions: Considering the extensive studies that have been conducted in the field of search query formulation in children and adolescents worldwide, and considering the linguistic, cultural, and media literacy differences of Iranian children and adolescents, it is necessary to conduct these studies in Iran as well. It seems that before teaching the use of user interfaces and digital media literacy to this group, it is essential to know the query formulation behavior of Iranian children.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects


Anuyah, O., Soledad Pera, M. & Alan Fails, J. (2018). Investigating query formulation assistance for children. In: IDC '18: Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children, June 2018, 581-586. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3202185.3210779
Badizadegan, M.R., Fattahi, R. & Sanatjoo, A. (2018). Children’s Interaction with Online Catalogs: Analysis of Important Features and Elements of the Interface. Librarianship and Information Organization Studies, 29(1): 149-162. [in persian]
Beelen, T., Velner, E., Ordelman, R., Truong, K.P., Evers, V. & Huibers, T. (2021). Does your robot know? Enhancing children’s information retrieval through spoken conversation with responsible robots. In: IR4Children ’21, July 15, 2021, Online Event. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.07931
Bezanilla Albisu, M.J. (1992). Children’s understating and use of a data base. A thesis of doctoral, University of London, London. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from:           
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Children's-understanding-and-use-of-a-data-base-Albisua-Jos%C3%A9/edaa2 ed622fd21d17a28a22a9 ccc6eaefe7aeba7
Bilal, D. & Gwizdka, J. (2018). Children's query types and reformulations in Google search. Information Processing and Management, 54: 1022-1041.
Bilal, D. & Kirby, J. (2002). Differences and similarities in information seeking: Children and adults as Web users. Information Processing and Management, No.38: 649–670
Bilal, D. & Wang, P. (2005). Children's conceptual structures of science categories and the design of Web directories. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 56, (12) 1303-1313; 1303. DOI: 10.1002/asi.20216
Bilal, D. (1998). Children’s search processes in using World Wide Web search engines: an exploratory study. In: Proceedings of the Sixty-First ASIS Annual Meeting, 35, October 24–29, 1998, Pittsburgh, PA (pp. 45–53), Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc.
Bilal, D. (2000). Children’s use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine: I. Cognitive, physical, and affective behaviors on fact-based search tasks. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 51(7): 646–665.
Bilal, D. (2001). Children’s use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine: III. Cognitive, physical, behaviors on fully self-generated search tasks. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(13): 1170-1183.
Bilal, D. (2002). Children’s use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine: II. Cognitive, physical, behaviors on research tasks. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 52(2): 118-136.
Borgman, C. (1991). The science library catalog project: Comparison of children's searching behavior in a direct manipulation and a keyword search system. In: Proceedings of the 54th American Society for Information Science Annual Meeting, October 27-31, (pp. 162-169). Washington, D.C.
Brazier, D. Walton, G. & Harvey, M. (2019). An investigation into Scottish teenagers’ information literacy and search skills. Information Research, 24(1): 1-13.
Busey, P. & Doerr, T. (1993). Kid’s catalog: an information retrieval system for children. Youth Services in Libraries, 7(1): 77-84.
Chao, P.-Y., Lin, C.-C. & Wu, M.-S. (2017). Employing a visualized searching system to assist elementary students’ tactics and success of storybook searching. Online Information Review, 41(3): 412-427.
Dinet, J., Bastien, J.M.C. & Kitajima, M. (2010). What, where and how are young people looking for in a search engine results page? Impact of typographical cues and prior domain knowledge. In: Proceedings of the 22nd Conference on l'Interaction Homme-Machine, Septemeber 2010: 105-112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1941007.1941022
Downs, B. & et al, (2020c). KidSpell: a Child-Oriented, Rule-Based, Phonetic Spellchecker. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://aclanthology.org/2020.lrec-1.857/
Downs, B. & et al. (2020b). Guiding the Selection of Child Spellchecker Suggestions using Audio and Visual Cues. In: IDC '20: Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference, June 2020: 398–408. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3392063.3394390
Downs, B. (2020a). Improving spellchecking for children: correction and design. A thesis of Master degree, Boise State University.       
URL= https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2852&context=td
Downs, B., Pera, M.S., Wright, K.L., Kennington, C. & Fails, J.A. (2021). KidSpell: Making a difference in spellchecking for children. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, No. 32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100373
Druin, A., Foss, E., Hatley, L., Golub, E., Fails, J. & Hutchinson, H. (2009). How children search the internet with keyword interfaces. In: IDC '09: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children: 89–96.        
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1551788 .1551804
Druin, A., Foss, E., Hutchinson, H., Golub, E. & Hatley, L. (2010). Children’s roles using keyword search interfaces at home. In: CHI '10: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsApril 2010, 413–422.  
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1753326.1753388
Duarte Torres, S., Hiemstra, D. & Serdyukov, P. (2010). An analysis of queries intended to search information for children. In: IIiX '10: Proceedings of the third symposium on Information interaction in context, August 2010: 235–244. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1840784.1840819
Duarte Torres, S., Weber, I. & Hiemstra, D. (2014). Analysis of search and browsing behavior of young users on the Web. ACM Transactions on the Web, 8(2): 1-54.
Eickhoff, C. et al. (2012). EmSe: Initial evaluation of a child-friendly medical search system. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254462937 _EmSe_initial_evaluation_of_a_child-friendly_medical_search_system
Elliot, D., Glassey, R., Polajnar, T. & Azzopardi, L. (2010). Finding and Filtering Information for Children. In: Proceeding of the 33rd International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, SIGIR 2010, Geneva, Switzerland, July 19-23, 2010. DOI: 10.1145/1835449.1835569
Fails, J.A., Pera, M.S., Anuyah, O., Kennington, C., Wright, K.L. & Bigirimana, W. (2019). Query formulation assistance for kids: What is available, when to help & what kids want. In: IDC '19: Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, June 2019, 109–120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3311927.3323131
Foss E. & Druin, A. (2014). Children’s Internet search using roles to understand children’s search behavior. Morgan & Claypool Publishers
Foss, E. (2014). Internet searching in children and adolescents: a longitudinal framework of youth search roles. Thesis of philosophy of Doctorate. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.academia.edu/28825064/Internet_searching_in_children_and_adolescents_A_longitudinal_framework_of_youth_search_roles
Foss, E., Druin, A., Yip, J., Ford, W. & Golub, E. (2012). Adolescent search roles. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 64(1): 173–189.
Ghanbari, M., Shahbazi, A. & Kazemi Majd, Z. (2016). The Analysis of the Content of the Fifth Grade Social Studies Book in Terms of the Level of Attention Paid to Language Skills. Research in the Education of Educational Sciences and Counseling Second Term, 2(3): 31-46. [in persian]
Ghasemzadeh, H., Ghasemzadeh, M. & Zare Bidaki, A.M. (2018). The Effect of Topic Pattern of Teen Users’ Search Behavior on Query Recommendation. Iranian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 16(1): 51-60. [in persian]
Glassey, R., Elliott, D., Polajnar, T. & Azzopardi, L. (2010). Interaction-based information filtering for children. In: IIiX '10: Proceedings of the third symposium on Information interaction in contextAugust 2010, 329–334. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1840784.1840834
Gossen, T. (2015). Search engines for children: Search user interfaces and information-seeking behaviour. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from:             
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318585705 _Search_engines_for_children_Search_user_interfaces_and_information-seeking_behaviour
Gossen, T., Hobel, H. & Nurnberger, A. (2014a). A comparative study about children’s and adults’ perception of targeted web search engines. In: Conference: SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI'14, Toronto, ON, Canada.     
DOI: 10.1145/2556288.2557031
Gossen, T., Hobel, H. & Nurnberger, A. (2014b). Usability and perception of young users and adults on targeted web search engines. In: IIiX '14: Proceedings of the 5th Information Interaction in Context Symposium: 18–27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2637002.2637007
Gossen, T., Kotzyba, M. & Nurnberger, A. (2017). Search engine for children: User-centered design. Datenbank Spektrum, 17: 61–67. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from:    
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312516234_Search_Engine_for_Children_User-Centered_Design
Gossen, T., Kotzyba, M., Stober, S. & Nurenbeger, A. (2013a). Voice-Controlled Search User Interfaces for Young Users. In: 7th annual Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.researchgate.net /publication/269874993_Voice-Controlled_Search_User_Interfaces _for_Young_Users
Gossen, T., Nitsche, M. & Nurnberger, A. (2012). Search user interface design for children: Challenges and solutions. In: European Workshop on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266886488_Search_User_Interface_Design_for_Children_Challenges_and_Solutions
Gossen, T., Nitsche, M., Vos, J. & Nurenbeger, A. (2013b). Adaptation of a search user interface towards user needs – a prototype study with children & adults. In: HCIR '13: Proceedings of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information RetrievalOctober 2013. Article No.: 3, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1145/2528394.2528397
Han, H. (2017). Understanding children’s help-seeking behaviors: Effects of domain knowledge. A dissertation of doctoral philosophy, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Understanding-Children%E2%80%99s-Help-Seeking-Behaviors%3A-of-Han/6ee1107c55522c873439469eb5353fd6a323e8d1
Hirsh, S. G. (1997). How do children find information on different types of tasks? Children’s use of the science library catalog. Library Trends, 45(4), 725-745.
Hirsh, S.G. (1996). The effect of domain knowledge on elementary school children’s search behavior on an information retrieval system: the Science Library Catalog. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Department of Library and Information Science, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles.
Hirsh, S.G. (1999). Children’s relevance criteria and information seeking on electronic resources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(14): 1265–1283.
Hollander, E., Huibers, T., Jochmann-Mannak, H. & van der Vet, P.E. (2010). Measuring children’s search behaviour on a large scale. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022,             
from: https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/measuring-childrens-search-behaviour-on-a-large-scale
Hourcade, J.P. & Perry, K.B. (2009). Exploring children’s investigation of data outliers. In: IDC '09: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, June 2009: 262–265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1551788.1551848
Jansen M., Bos, W., Vet, P., Huibers T. & Hiemstra, D. (2010). TeddIR: Tangible Information Retrieval for Children. In: IDC '10: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Interaction Design and ChildrenJune 2010: 282–285.        
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1810543.1810592
Jochmann-Mannak, H., Huibers, T., Lentz, L. & Sanders, T. (2010). Children searching information on the Internet: Performance on children’s interfaces compared to Google. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Children-searching-information-on-the-Internet%3A-on-Jochmann-Mannak-Huibers/e0c60431776de4c4e910 a517b9f370f6294fb80f
Kafai, Y. & Bates, M.J. (1997). Internet Web-searching instruction in the elementary classroom: Building a foundation for information literacy. School Library Media Quarterly, https://www .researchgate.net/publication/284696118_Internet_web-searching_instruction_in_the _elementary_classroom_Building_a_foundation_for_information_literacy
Kammerer, Y. & Bohnacker, M. (2012). Children's Web Search with Google: the effectiveness of natural language queries. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from:         
https://www.researchgate.net/publication /231614190_Children's_web_search_with_Google_The_effectiveness_of_natural_language_queries
Karanam, S., van Oostendorp, H., Sanchiz, M., Chevalier, A., Chin, J. & Fu, W.T. (2015). Modeling and predicting information search behavior. In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on web intelligence, mining and semantics: 1-12.
URL= https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2797115.2797123
Landoni, M. & et al. (2019). Sonny, Cerca ! Evaluating the impact of using a vocal assistant to search at school. In: F. Crestani & et al. (Eds), Experimental IR Meets Multilinguality, Multimodality, and Interaction: 101-113. Switzerland: Springer.
Large, A., Beheshti, J. & Rahman, T. (2002). Gender differences in collaborative Web searching behavior: an elementary school study. Information Processing and Management, 38(3):
427–443.
Li, Y. & Belkin, N.J. (2010). An exploration of the relationships between work task and interactive information search behavior. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 61(9): 1771-1789.
Lingnau, A., Ruthven, I. & Landoni, M. (2010). Interactive search interfaces for young children – The PuppyIR approach. In: ICALT 2010, 10th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, Sousse, Tunesia, 5-7 July 2010. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221423681_Interactive_Search_Interfaces_for_Young_Children_-_The_PuppyIR_Approach
Marchionini, G. (1989). Information-seeking strategies of novices using a full-text electronic encyclopedia. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 40(1): 54-66.
Meho, L.I. & Tibbo, H.R. (2003). Modeling the information-seeking behavior of social scientists: Ellis’s study revisited. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 54(6): 570–587.
Meriam, T.S., Wook, T. & Salim, S.S. (2013). Visual interface for searching and browsing children’s WebOPAC. Universal Access in the Information Society, 13(4).          
DOI: 10.1007/s10209-013-0322-3
Moore, P. (1995). Information problem solving: a wider view library skill. Contemporary Education Psychology, 20: 1-31.
Naghib, F., Mirzabeigi, M. & Alborzi, M. (2018). The Study of Difference in the Information Searching Behavior of High School Students regarding to their Experience and Spatial Intelligence in Simple and Complex Search Tasks. Librarianship and Information Organization Studies, 29(3): 199-221. [in persian] DOI: 10.30484/nastinfo.2018.2280
Naghib, F., Mirzabeigi, M. & Alborzi, M. (2019). The role of spatial intelligence in predicting web information searching behavior and performance of high school students. Library Hi Tech, 39(1). DOI: 10.1108/LHT-07-2019-0139
Naseri, E., Sarrafzadeh, M. & Noruzi, A. (2021). Investigation of digital natives’ information behavior: A case of students between 15 and 18 Years at the Faezun High School in Tehran. Journal of Studies in Library and Information Science, 13(3). [in persian]           
DOI: 10.22055/slis.2020.32021.1678
National Statistics Institute. (2017). National portal of statistics. Retrieved 17 Nov., 2022, from: https://www.amar.org.ir/statistical-information [in persian]
Nazari, M. (2005). How can be information literate? Library and Information Sciences, 2(8): 27-58. [in persian]
Polajnar, T., Glassey, R. & Azzopardi, L. (2011). JuSe: A Picture Dictionary Query System for Children. In: Proceeding of the 34th International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, SIGIR 2011, Beijing, China. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221299685_JuSe      
 _a_picture_dictionary_query_system_for_children
Purvis, J. & Azzopardi, L. (2012). A preliminary study using PageFetch to examine the searching ability of children and adults. In: IIIX '12: Proceedings of the 4th Information Interaction
in Context Symposium, August 2012: 262–265.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2362724.2362770
Ramezani A. (2017). Utilization of Core Vocabulary for Students with Special Needs. Journal Exceptional Education, 6(143): 61-70. [in persian]
Rocha Silva, S.R. & Xexeo, G.B. (2013). Child search framework: a collaborative information retrieval architecture to assist children in the search process. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6581021
Rownalds, I. & et al. (2008). The Google generation: the information behaviour of the researcher of the future. Aslib Proceedings, 60(4): 290-310.
Sakhaei, F., Shahbodaghi, M., Faqihzadeh, S. & Nematzadeh, S. (2009). A Comparative Study of Core Vocabulary Frequency in Children Who Stutter and Who Do Not Stutter in Primary School. Journal of Modern Rehabilitation, 2(3-4): 12-18.
Saleki Maleki, F. & Momeni, E. (2018). The Verbal Information Behavior of the Pre-school Children in Some Preschool Centers in Tehran. Library and Information Science Research, 8(1): 357-377. [in persian]
Saleki Maleki, F., Momeni, E. & Galini Mogadam, G. (2017). Applicability of BAT Model for Children Information Search Behavior in some Preschools in Tehran. Human Information Interaction, 3(4): 74-89. [in persian]
Schacter, J., Chung, G. & Dorr, A. (1998). Children’s internet searching on complex problems: Performance and process analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 49(9): 840-849.
Solomon, P. (1993). Children’s information retrieval behavior: a case analysis of an OPAC. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 44: 245–264.
Spavold, J. (1989). Children and databases: an analysis of data entry and query formulation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, No. 5: 145-160.
Spink, A., Danby, S., Mallan, K. & Butler, C. (2010). Exploring young children’s web searching and technoliteracy. Journal of Documentation, 66(2): 191-206.
Talib, A., Mahmuddin, M. & Husni, H. (2010). Using content-based image retrieval for accessing images on the Web for children. In: International Conference on Circuit and Signal Processing. Retrieved 21 Feb., 2022, from:           
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280723204_Using_Content-Based_Image_Retrieval_for_Accessing_ Images _on_ the_Web_for_Children
United Nations. [n.d.]. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved 11 May, 2022, from: https://www.unicef.nl/files/English%20child%20friendly%20convention.pdf
Vanderschant, N. & Hinze, A. (2019). Computer what’s your favourite colour? Children’s Information-seeking strategies in the classroom. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 56(1): 265-275.
Walhout, J., Oomen, P., Jarodzka, H. & Brand-Gruwel, S. (2017). Effects of task complexity on online search behavior of adolescents. Journal pf the Association for Information Science and Technology, 68(6). DOI: 10.1002/asi.23782
Wilson, T.D. (2000). Human information behavior. Information Science (Special Issue of Information Science Research), 3(2):49-55.
Wu, D. & Cai, W. (2016). An empirical study on Chinese adolescents’ web search behavior. Journal of Documentation, 72(3): 435-453. DOI: 10.1108/JD-04-2015-0047
Xu, J., Kang, Q. & Song, Z. (2015). The current state of systematic reviews in library and information studies. Library and Information Science Research, 37(1): 296- 310.
Yarosh, S. & et al. (2018). Children asking questions: Speech interface reformulations and personification preferences. In: IDC '18: Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children: 300–312.     
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3202185.3202207
CAPTCHA Image