¹Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, Department of Computer Information Systems, New York, USA
²Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Information Technology, Brisbane, Australia
³Queens College, Department of Computer Science, Flushing, USA

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Abstract—Usability is a multi-dimensional characteristic of a computer system. This paper focuses on usability as a measurement of interaction between the user and the system. The research employs a task-oriented approach to evaluate the usability of a meta search engine. This engine encourages and accepts queries of unlimited size expressed in natural language. A variety of conventional metrics developed by academic and industrial research, including ISO standards, are applied to the information retrieval process consisting of sequential tasks. Tasks range from formulating (long) queries to interpreting and retaining search results. Results of the evaluation and analysis of the operation log indicate that obtaining advanced search engine results can be accomplished simultaneously with enhancing the usability of the interactive process. In conclusion, we discuss implications for interactive information retrieval system design and directions for future usability research.

Index Terms—usability, search engine, search tasks, query formulation, query refinement

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Cite: Isak Taksa, Amanda Spink, Robert Goldberg, " A Task-oriented Approach to Search Engine Usability Studies," Journal of Software vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 63-73, 2008.