Searching for relevant information on the World Wide Web is often a laborio
us and frustrating task for casual and experienced users. To help improve s
earching on the Web based on a better understanding of user characteristics
, we investigate what types of knowledge are relevant for Web-based informa
tion seeking, and which knowledge structures and strategies are involved. T
wo experimental studies are presented, which address these questions from d
ifferent angles and with different methodologies. In the first experiment,
12 established Internet experts are first interviewed about search strategi
es and then perform a series of realistic search tasks on the World Wide We
b. From this study a model of information seeking on the World Wide Web is
derived and then tested in a second study. In the second experiment two typ
es of potentially relevant types of knowledge are compared directly. Effect
s of Web experience and domain-specific background knowledge are investigat
ed with a series of search tasks in an economics-related domain (introducti
on of the Euro currency). We find differential and combined effects of both
Web experience and domain knowledge: while successful search performance r
equires the combination of the two types of expertise, specific strategies
directly related to Web experience or domain knowledge can be identified. (
C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.