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, identify common trends, develop a methodological framework, and define terminology for future Web searching studies. In this article, the results from published studies of Web searching are reviewed to present the current state of research. The analysis of the limited Web searching studies available indicates that research methods and terminology are already diverging. A framework is proposed for future studies that will facilitate comparison of results. The advantages of such a framework are presented, and the implications for the design of Web information retrieval systems studies are discussed. Additionally, the searching characteristics of Web users are compared and contrasted with users of traditional information retrieval and online public access systems to discover if there is a need for more studies that focus predominantly or exclusively on Web searching. The comparison indicates that Web searching differs from searching in other environments.

/pdf/a-review-of-web-searching-studies-and-a-framework-for-future-u80mhahfz5.pdf

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

Like many other social phenomena, prostitution is increasingly coordinated over the Internet. The online behavior affects the offline activity; the reverse is also true. We investigated the reported sexual contacts between 6,624 anonymous escorts and 10,106 sex buyers extracted from an online community from its beginning and six years on. These sexual encounters were also graded and categorized (in terms of the type of sexual activities performed) by the buyers. From the temporal, bipartite network of posts, we found a full feedback loop in which high grades on previous posts affect the future commercial success of the sex worker, and vice versa. We also found a peculiar growth pattern in which the turnover of community members and sex workers causes a sublinear preferential attachment. There is, moreover, a strong geographic influence on network structure—the network is geographically clustered but still close to connected, the contacts consistent with the inverse-square law observed in trading patterns. We also found that the number of sellers scales sublinearly with city size, so this type of prostitution does not, comparatively speaking, benefit much from an increasing concentration of people.

/pdf/information-dynamics-shape-the-sexual-networks-of-internet-3lxgyoysj7.pdf

Information dynamics shape the sexual networks of Internet-mediated prostitution

The Web has become a worldwide source of information and a mainstream business tool. It is changing the way people conduct the daily business of their lives. As these changes are occurring, we need to understand what Web searching trends are emerging within the various global regions. What are the regional differences and trends in Web searching, if any? What is the effectiveness of Web search engines as providers of information? As part of a body of research studying these questions, we have analyzed two data sets collected from queries by mainly European users submitted to AlltheWeb.com on 6 February 2001 and 28 May 2002. AlltheWeb.com is a major and highly rated European search engine. Each data set contains approximately a million queries submitted by over 200,000 users and spans a 24-h period. This longitudinal benchmark study shows that European Web searching is evolving in certain directions. There was some decline in query length, with extremely simple queries. European search topics are broadening, with a notable percentage decline in sexual and pornographic searching. The majority of Web searchers view fewer than five Web documents, spending only seconds on a Web document. Approximately 50% of the Web documents viewed by these European users were topically relevant. We discuss the implications for Web information systems and information content providers.

/pdf/an-analysis-of-web-searching-by-european-alltheweb-com-users-42wtnjmijd.pdf

An analysis of web searching by European AlltheWeb.com users

Major Web search engines, such as AltaVista, are essential tools in the quest to locate online information. This article reports research that used transaction log analysis to examine the characteristics and changes in AltaVista Web searching that occurred from 1998 to 2002. The research questions we examined are (1) What are the changes in AltaVista Web searching from 1998 to 2002? (2) What are the current characteristics of AltaVista searching, including the duration and frequency of search sessions? (3) What changes in the information needs of AltaVista users occurred between 1998 and 2002? The results of our research show (1) a move toward more interactivity with increases in session and query length, (2) with 70% of session durations at 5 minutes or less, the frequency of interaction is increasing, but it is happening very quickly, and (3) a broadening range of Web searchers' information needs, with the most frequent terms accounting for less than 1% of total term usage. We discuss the implications of these findings for the development of Web search engines.

A temporal comparison of AltaVista Web searching

The key factors for the success of the World Wide Web are its large size and the lack of a centralized control over its contents. Both issues are also the most important source of problems for locating information. The Web is a context in which traditional Information Retrieval methods are challenged, and given the volume of the Web and its speed of change, the coverage of modern search engines is relatively small. Moreover, the distribution of quality is very skewed, and interesting pages are scarce in comparison with the rest of the content.

/pdf/effective-web-crawling-1h7eyl7kjz.pdf

Effective web crawling

Searching the World-Wide Web: Implications From Studying Different User Behavior.

It is critical to understand WWW latency in order to design better HTTP protocols. In this study we c haracterize Web response time and examine the eeects of proxy caching, network bandwidth, traac load, persistent connections for a page, and periodicity. Based on studies with four workloads, we show that at least a quarter of the total elapsed time is spent on establishing TCP connections with HTTPP1.0. The distributions of connection time and elapsed time can be modeled using Pearson, Weibul, or Log-logistic distributions. Response times display strong daily and weekly patterns. We also characterize the eeect of a user's network bandwidth on response time. Average connection time from a client via a 33.6 K modem is two times longer than that from a client via switched Ethernet. We estimate the elapsed time savings from using persistent connections for a page to vary from about a quarter to a half. This study nds that a proxy caching server is sensitive to traac loads. Contrary to the typical thought about Web proxy caching, this study also nds that a single stand-alone squid proxy cache does not always reduce response time for our workloads. Implications of these results to future versions of the HTTP protocol and to Web application design are discussed.

Binzhang Liu

Papers

Searching the World-Wide Web: Implications From Studying Different User Behavior.

Web Traffic Latency: Characteristics and Implications.