Tabs and Tabulations: Results of a Transaction Log Analysis of a Tabbed-Search Interface

The following study analyzes user search behavior using a tabbed-search interface. For this study, a transaction log was used to collect information about user searches and included tab used; search terms; date, time, and location of search (on campus or off campus); as well as a unique ID to identi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of web librarianship 2015-01, Vol.9 (1), p.22-41
Main Authors: Brett, Kelsey, German, Elizabeth, Young, Frederick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic libraries
Assessments
Interfaces
Libraries
Queries
Query processing
search behavior
search log analysis
Searches
Searching
Studies
tabbed-search
Tabs
Tabulation
transaction log
User behavior
User interfaces
Web site assessment
Web sites
Websites
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Summary:The following study analyzes user search behavior using a tabbed-search interface. For this study, a transaction log was used to collect information about user searches and included tab used; search terms; date, time, and location of search (on campus or off campus); as well as a unique ID to identify the user session and another ID to identify each transaction. This article explains the process for examining 4,300 search queries conducted on the library homepage during an academic semester and presents findings from the analysis. The article also details enhancements that were made to the tabbed-search interface as a result of the transaction log analysis. Additionally, the article discusses the merits of using a transaction log as a method of ongoing assessment of a library Web site's search interface.
ISSN:1932-2909
1932-2917
DOI:10.1080/19322909.2015.1004502