How children search the internet with keyword interfaces

Allison Druin, Elizabeth Foss, Leshell Hatley, Evan Golub, Mona Leigh Guha, Jerry Fails, Hilary Hutchinson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

Children are among the most frequent users of the Internet, yet searching and browsing the web can present many challenges. Studies over the past two decades on how children search were conducted with finite and pre-determined content found in CDROM applications, online digital libraries, and web directories. However, with the current popularity of the open Internet and keyword-based interfaces for searching it, more critical analysis of the challenges children face today is needed. This paper presents the findings of our initial study to understand how children ages 7, 9, and 11 search the Internet using keyword interfaces in the home. Our research has revealed that although today's children have been exposed to computers for most of their lives, spelling, typing, query formulation, and deciphering results are all still potential barriers to finding the information they need.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of IDC 2009 - The 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
Pages89-96
Number of pages8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Event8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC 2009 - Como, Italy
Duration: 3 Jun 20095 Jun 2009

Publication series

NameProceedings of IDC 2009 - The 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children

Conference

Conference8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC 2009
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityComo
Period3/06/095/06/09

Keywords

  • Children
  • Internet
  • Query formulation
  • Search
  • Search engine
  • Search results
  • Typing

EGS Disciplines

  • Computer Sciences

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