Search User Interfaces

Focuses on the human users of search engines and the tools available for interaction and visualization in searches.

Marti A. Hearst (Author)

9780521113793, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 September 2009

404 pages, 151 b/w illus. 12 colour illus. 8 tables
26 x 18.4 x 2.7 cm, 0.9 kg

'This will be seen as a transformational book, one that synthesized a new and coherent discipline of human information interaction out of literature and experience scattered across many fields. Professor Hearst has read everything. There is no book like it that puts together so completely the new technical foundations for a user-centered design of information systems. Search User Interfaces should be required reading for anyone who would study or design such systems.' Stuart Card, Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), California

The truly world-wide reach of the Web has brought with it a new realisation of the enormous importance of usability and user interface design. In the last ten years, much has become understood about what works in search interfaces from a usability perspective, and what does not. Researchers and practitioners have developed a wide range of innovative interface ideas, but only the most broadly acceptable make their way into major web search engines. This book summarizes these developments, presenting the state of the art of search interface design, both in academic research and in deployment in commercial systems. Many books describe the algorithms behind search engines and information retrieval systems, but the unique focus of this book is specifically on the user interface. It will be welcomed by industry professionals who design systems that use search interfaces as well as graduate students and academic researchers who investigate information systems.

1. The design of search user interfaces
2. The evaluation of search user interfaces
3. Models of the information seeking process
4. Query specification
5. Presentation of search results
6. Query reformulation
7. Supporting the search process
8. Integrating navigation with search
9. Personalization in search
10. Information visualization for search interfaces
11. Information visualization for text analysis
12. Emerging trends in search interfaces.

Subject Areas: Web programming [UMW], Web graphics & design [UGB]