For students conducting research, the traditional linear navigation model of search form to results to detailed record has served as a consistent, gold standard. Today’s students are abandoning traditional paths, embracing a new behavior Jakob Nielsen’s team calls “page parking” and moving full-steam ahead with heightened expectations for the search results page. On this new results page experience – what was once a pass-through en route to detailed information about a product or service – has become the singular page that matters most: the required basic; the new black. Attendees will also learn the difference between what students call a “good” search result and how this compares to what librarians’ favor. Join EBSCO’s Sr. UX Researcher, Lin Lin, to learn more about students’ digital ecosystems and gain a deeper understanding of user needs at that critical juncture.

1. Lin Lin, Sr. UX Researcher
EBSCO Information Services
UK EDS Conference 2016
July 7 , 2016
llin@ebsco.com
How Search Results Became “The New Black”

2. OUR PROJECTS
Secondary Research
Literature review of elementary,
middle, high school and
college/grad school search
habits.
Video Diary Study
High school students
demonstrating their
research habits.
Contextual Inquiry
Participant-driven sessions
with high school, college
and graduate students.
Participatory Design
College students working in
teams to design their ideal
search experience.
User Testing
Wireframe feedback &
prototype testing for important
aspects of the search
experience.

3. How Students Make Decisions

4. Learning about topic

7. Times cited is used as a proxy for
importance.

8. How Students Make Decisions
Library/EDS

9. Scanning for search terms

10. Scanning for secondary terms

11. Skimming through snippets

12. Source info is used as a proxy for
credibility

13. Filtering VS New search

14. Title includes search term

15. Description includes secondary terms

16. Abstract signals relevancy

17. “Gold Standard”

18. Meet “Page Parking”, The New Pogo-Sticking
NNGroup Nov 2015

19. Search Results: “The New Black”
Once a pass-through to the detailed record, students
are now using search results as a point of triage.
From finding sources, to weeding & narrowing
Laptop stays open for the duration. Word document
becomes the working inventory, then the paper.
Opening new browser tabs for possibilities (“page
parking is the new pogo-sticking” – NNGroup).

20. Search Results: One Size Does Not Fit All
Search results preferences of non-librarians differ greatly from those of librarians.
Non-librarian users (public library patrons, students) gravitate towards
results lists with titles that had more exact matches of their search terms. In
contrast, librarians appeared to prefer a more “well-rounded sample” for a
results list.
To students and library patrons, a “good result” means seeing their search term
repeated in the items of the title on page 1 of results.
Non-librarian users appear to be seeking general overviews in search results, and
are less satisfied with a search result that shows items that are “too specific, too
quickly.”

21. Some users preferred historical aspects of
the topic, while others preferred articles
that relates to current times.
(One Size Does Not Fit All)

22. Results that are too specific on the first
page are not helpful.

23. Participants were looking for overviews.
Teacher tenure results about specific
lawsuits were not relevant to many
participants.

24. UP NEXT:
 FACULTY CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
 EBOOK RESEARCH
Faculty and student referrals needed
Contact research@ebsco.com

25. How To Partner With Us
Be a partner in an EBSCO research study
We partner with you to take a deeper look at a particular audience or question. Whether it’s co-developing a survey or
engaging as a contextual inquiry institution, there are many opportunities.
Collaborate on a custom research project with us
We’ve worked with individual institutions to conduct user testing on their EDS implementation, resulting in a set of
findings that helped optimize usability. We can conduct a survey together. We can conduct in-person or remote webinars.
Customized to suit your needs.
Let us help with your library website redesign
We’ve learned how students are navigating library websites. We can help as you undertake changes to yours.
We will use usertesting.com and share best practices based on similar institutions.
Let us provide you with data
Let us provide you with information about your EBSCO product usage, including search terms, key usage stats and more.
Secondary research reports also available.
Contact research@ebsco.com!

26. llin@ebsco.com
research@ebsco.com
Be in Touch.