Exploratory Search and HCI: Designing and Evaluating Interfaces to Support Exploratory Search Interaction

The model of search as a turn-taking dialogue between the user and an intermediary has remained unchanged for decades.  However, there is growing interest within the search community in evolving this model to support search-driven information exploration activities.  So-called “ exploratory search” describes a class of search activities that move beyond fact retrieval toward fostering learning, investigation, and information use.  Exploratory search interaction focuses on the user-system communication essential during exploratory search processes.  Given this user-centered focus, the CHI conference is an ideal venue to discuss mechanisms to support exploratory search behaviors.  Specifically, this workshop aims to gather researchers, academics, and practitioners working in human-computer interaction, information retrieval, and other related disciplines, for a discussion of the issues relating to the design and evaluation of interfaces to help users explore, learn, and use information.  These are important issues with far-reaching implications for how many computer users accomplish their tasks.