Assigning search tasks designed to elicit exploratory search behaviors

The goal of this paper is to provide guidance to researchers investigating exploratory search behaviors and exploratory search systems. It focuses on the design of search tasks assigned in such studies. Based on a review of past studies, a set of task characteristics associated with exploratory search tasks are identified: exploratory search tasks focus on learning and investigative search goals; they are general (rather than specific), open-ended, and often target multiple items/documents; they involve uncertainty and are motivated by ill-defined or ill-structured problems; they are dynamic and evolve over time; they are multi-faceted and may be procedurally complex; and they are often accompanied by other information or cognitive behaviors, such as sensemaking. Recommendations are provided for the design of search task descriptions that will elicit exploratory search behaviors.