Exploring the Use of Labels to Shortcut Search Trails

Search trails comprising queries and Web page views are created as searchers engage in information-seeking activity online. During known-item search (where the objective may be to locate a target Web page), searchers may waste valuable time repeatedly reformulating queries as they attempt to locate an elusive page. Trail shortcuts help users bypass unnecessary queries and get them to their desired destination faster. In this poster we present a comparative oracle study of techniques to shortcut sub-optimal search trails using labels derived from social bookmarking, anchor text, query logs, and a human-computation game. We show that labels can help users reach target pages efficiently, that the label sources perform differently, and that shortcuts are potentially most useful when the target is challenging to find.