Nora Brown Design

Four Search Modes

Though I’d heard about BoxesAndArrows.com before, I hadn’t really checked it out. It is an online journal focusing on “graphic design, interaction design, information architecture, and the design of business.” A mention in a book I read recently, A Project Guide to UX Design led me to an interesting article on different modes of seeking information.

Four modes of information seeking

Known-item

When someone knows what they’re looking for, and they have a pretty good idea of how to find it. For example, finding out what time a movie is playing.

Exploratory

When someone knows what they’re looking for, but may not know the exact terms to use or where to look. For example, finding out what the roles are of various elected officials in your town.

Don’t know what you need to know

In this mode, the person may have just been introduced to a new service or concept, and is trying to figure it out. Or, they may simply be keeping up-to-date on a particular topic. For example, subscribing to RSS Feeds on web design.

Re-finding

Here, the person is trying to re-locate information they know exists and have encountered before.

Implications for websites

Once you’ve identified the different modes of search that users are likely to employ on your site, you can change the organization, design, and/or content to cater to these needs.

For example, exploratory search may be aided by lists of “related articles”, while lists of “previously read” articles can help in re-finding.