The Impact of SearchTrails on the Quality of Collaborative Search

Abstract

Several collaborative search systems build upon real time collaboration during search processes. With SearchTrails, we present a novel way of capturing and exchanging the process of search itself between collaborators. We achieve this by asynchronously exchanging search trails between collaborators and thus overcome the necessity of real-time interaction. In a study with 29 participants, we evaluate the value of search trails as collaboration artifacts to answer the research question whether search trails improve the quality of collaborative search results. We show that this is the case and users can build upon the previous work of co-searchers in a very efficient way by analyzing and extending the search trails as given collaboration artifacts.