A review of Web searching studies and a framework for future research

Research on Web searching is at an incipient stage. This aspect provides a unique opportunity to review the current state of research in the field, id entify common trends, develop a methodological framework, and define termin ology for future Web searching studies, In this article, the results from p ublished studies of Web searching are reviewed to present the current state of research. The analysis of the limited Web searching studies available i ndicates that research methods and terminology are already diverging. A fra mework is proposed for future studies that will facilitate comparison of re sults, The advantages of such a framework are presented, and the implicatio ns for the design of Web information retrieval systems studies are discusse d. Additionally, the searching characteristics of Web users are compared an d contrasted with users of traditional information retrieval and online pub lic access systems to discover if there is a need for more studies that foc us predominantly or exclusively on Web searching, The comparison indicates that Web searching differs from searching in other environments.