Spying on Search Strategies

Only the most dedicated super-searchers are motivated to learn and control command systems, like DialogClassic, that rely on the user to input complex search strategies. Infrequent searchers and most end users choose interfaces that do some of the work for them and make the search process appear easy. However, the easier a good interface seems to be, the more complex the system underlying it must be. Google is popular not only because of its simple dialog-box interface but because users are typically satisfied with their results. This article compares and contrasts different ways to get search results and focuses on on automatic ways to enhance searches versus human input. Sections include: (1) Underneath Dialog; (2) Human Work Underneath; and (3) Spying.

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