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ABSTRACT
The relative contributions of expertise in search skills and domain knowledge were examined when using the Internet to find information. Four conditions were compared: expert searchers/high domain knowledge; expert searchers/low domain knowledge; novice searchers/high domain knowledge; and novice searchers/low domain knowledge. Search outcomes and verbal protocols were analyzed. The combination of search expertise and high domain knowledge yielded the most efficient searches. Higher search expertise yielded access to sites rated more accurate and credible. High domain knowledge yielded sites rated more thorough. Verbal protocols depicted searching as a complex decision process. Findings have implications for instructional support.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank all of the librarians and students who agreed to give us their time to complete this study.
Funding
This research was funded through a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Notes
1. The scores for repeated and unique sites do not add to 100%. Repeated sites were scored as repeated only once, even though some users visited the same site multiple times.
2. The scores for affect do not add to 100% because scoring on affect was not mutually exclusive; some participants indicated more than one affect.