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Article Dans Une Revue Lecture Notes in Computer Science Année : 2011

Information searching on the Web: the cognitive difficulties experienced by older users in modifying unsuccessful information searches

Résumé

The present study addressed age-related differences in performances and strategies developed by web users while searching for information. Ten older and 10 younger adults had to search for information with Google and to answer 9 questions varying in complexity: from simple ones (participants needed to use keywords provided in the questions) to impossible ones (no answer existed). The results showed that older participants had lower performances than younger ones; age-related differences were more particularly marked as the question complexity increased. Regression analyses showed that processing speed and cognitive flexibility accounted for a large part of the variance in performances. The younger and older participants also differed in the strategies they developed while searching for information. The older participants tended to focus on the evaluation of the results provided by Google. In contrast, the younger participants tended to plan and regulate their activity, this last strategy provided better performances.

Domaines

Sociologie Web
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Dates et versions

hal-00909991 , version 1 (27-11-2013)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-00909991 , version 1

Citer

Aline Chevalier, A Dommes, Jean-Claude Marquié. Information searching on the Web: the cognitive difficulties experienced by older users in modifying unsuccessful information searches. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011, 6781, pp 225-232. ⟨hal-00909991⟩
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