Ease of Using Search Engines

"It is easy for all users to find specific information on the World Wide Web".

Because the web is relatively new in terms of reaching a large percentage of a country's population, users' experience, understanding and expertise varies widely. Technically-minded people will arguably have been familiar with the World Wide Web for longer, and therefore be able to find specific information more efficiently, if not more quickly than less experienced users.

Defining Ð''easy' in terms of using the World Wide Web is interesting. In terms of searching for a specific item, it could be defined as Ð''the ability to satisfactorily fulfil a task within a short period of time'.

The increasingly plentiful selection of search engines and reference sites on the Internet means that some users will experiment with different engines, whilst others will find one they are satisfied with and make it their first stop when wishing to find information. Users who experiment with a variety of search engines will take longer to familiarise themselves with each individual engine, this can take more time than a user who knows their way around their favourite engine.

A user who is loyal to one or two search engines would therefore find it Ð''easy' to retrieve information, provided their choice of search engine successfully provided the required data. If, however, the chosen search engine were not successful, the user would then have the option of either altering their selection of words, or try again on a completely different engine, one that may be uncharted territory for the user.

I have been loyal to a small number of search engines, because on the whole they have provided the information I require, albeit after attempting a small number of alternative input words or phrases. This loyalty has stemmed from both my becoming more familiar with these engines, and my acceptance that if my chosen search engines or reference sites cannot find the desired information, then it is unlikely I will have any greater success on entirely different ones. Moreover, having become used to a few search engines, namely ProFusion (Intelliseek) and AltaVista seems to lessen the attraction to try those unfamiliar to me, such as HotBot or GoZilla.

The level of experience a person has with both computers and the World Wide Web can help determine what type of user they are. Sutcliffe suggests four categories detailed below,

Ð'* NaÐ"Їve

Ð'* Novice

Ð'* Skilled (or Ð''Experienced')

Ð'* Expert

The first of these Ð'- NaÐ"Їve Ð'- refers to someone who has either never used computers before, or who uses them only very occasionally. It could also refer to someone who uses them occasionally, though does not remember basic tasks relayed to them.

Novice refers to someone who has not used computers until recently, and displays a lack of knowledge and understanding. It could also be used to categorise a user who only follows a method or instruction directly as it was given to them, as opposed to the Ð''skilled' user, who will have attempted different ways of achieving their goal with the aim of maximising efficiency or minimising time usage.

Expert indicates a user who shows a large amount of confidence and self-belief with regards to the task, and may be willing to relay such knowledge and information to less experienced users, should they require any assistance.

As explained earlier, my intended time was cut short by other commitments as opposed to exploring every avenue I could imagine given my level of expertise. I began to lose interest after trying my three most popular search engines including Profusion, a handful of entertainment internet retailers such as Amazon, an international film database and a reference site. Had I been a less experienced user, I may have tried fewer or different resources, though retained an interest in fulfilling the set goal.

Attitude of users is also an important factor to consider, as Shneiderman (1987) explains,

"novices to a task exhibit better performance and prefer to work

at slower speeds than knowledgeable frequent users".

Shneiderman is suggesting that experienced users may lose interest in the task, and may lose patience if a goal is proving difficult for them to achieve. Less knowledgeable users, however, will still find the idea of trying a variety of search engines appealing, especially if they are keen to boost their knowledge and have a willingness to achieve the goal set for them.

The argument put forward by Shneiderman about novice users displaying preferential performance could be contested if one looks at the goal from a different angle. By adopting the phrase Ð''the computer