A comparative analysis of the information-seeking behavior of visually impaired and sighted searchers

Understanding search behavior is important and leads to more effective interfaces that support searchers throughout the search process. In this article, through an observational user study, we investigate the search behavior of 15 visually impaired and 15 sighted searchers while they complete complex search tasks online. We study complex search tasks because they are challenging, cognitively intensive and affect performance of searchers. We compare the behavior of the two groups of searchers at four stages of the information-seeking process namely, Query Formulation, Search Results Exploration, Query Reformulation, and Search Results Management. For each stage, we identify research questions to investigate the impact of speech-based screen readers on the information-seeking behavior of visually impaired users. Significant differences were observed during query formulation and in the use of query-level support features such as query suggestions and spelling suggestions. In addition, screen-reader users submitted a lower number of queries and displayed comparatively limited exploratory behavior during search results exploration. We investigate how a lack of visual cues affected visually impaired searchers' approach towards query reformulation and observed different strategies to manage and use information encountered during the search process. We discuss the implications that our findings have for the design of search interfaces and propose a set of design guidelines to consider when designing interfaces that are usable and accessible with screen readers. This work also enhances our understanding of search behavior when using an auditory interface and could be useful when designing audio-based information retrieval systems. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.