THow to get more from users about what they want and how do we obtain this information in a
way that that involves the least intrusion? Web search engines have provided simple models of
interaction and users have learnt a particular model of interaction. Going beyond this, by asking
users to provide more information themselves, may be difficult unless we can, at the same time,
make clear the benefits of providing more information.
x Diane Kelly, in her panel address, raised the question of what type of science(s) we are engaged
in. One point raised in response was that our field has an increasingly heavy industrial
component and both sides of the academic/industrial fence need guidance on what the other side
wants. From the audience, the academics were clear that they wanted data whereas practioners
wanted general, coherent principles of interaction.
x What concepts are (most) useful for investigation? A recurring concept was that of task, reflecting
the increased interest in this concept within the community. This led into a discussion of the
granularity of investigation appropriate for learning about searchers and search behaviour of the
individual characteristics that are important in search interaction such as age, information literacy,
and information poverty. The issue of information literacy led back to a discussion on the
education of users – most Web users have little training in online searching – and the possible
dangers of users passively accepting search results.
x The issue of success and user satisfaction was another recurring theme throughout the day.
Participants from a background in more traditional system-based evaluation were keen for a