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Searching for multimedia: analysis of audio, video and image Web queries

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Abstract

The development of digital libraries has enhanced the integration of textual and multimedia information in many document collections. The World Wide Web provides the connectivity for many digital library users. Studies exploring the searching characteristics of Web users are an important and a growing area of research. Most Web user studies have focused on general Web searching, regardless of subject matter or format. Little research has examined how Web users search for multimedia information. Our study examines users' multimedia searching on a major Web search service. The data set examined consisted of 1,025,908 queries from 211,058 users of Excite ®, a major Web search service. From this data set, we identified and analyzed queries for audio, image, and video queries. Our findings were compared to results from general Web searching studies. Implications for the design of Web searching services and interfaces are discussed.

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Jansen, B.J., Goodrum, A. & Spink, A. Searching for multimedia: analysis of audio, video and image Web queries. World Wide Web 3, 249–254 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018743024123

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