Developing Age-Specific Computational Models of Web-Based Information Seeking

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The ability to access the World Wide Web can be an important means of fostering independence, reducing isolation, and increasing communication and wellbeing in older people. Despite these benefits, many older adults do not use the internet as frequently as younger individuals. There are some existing guidelines on improving internet access for older people; these often focus on simple changes to Web interfaces such as making the font size or buttons larger or adopting easier-to-read color schemes. However, these modifications do not address some of the more nuanced issues around how information-seeking behavior varies with age. Some recent research has shown that older people often adopt very different strategies compared to younger people when seeking information on line. They tend to use their richer crystallized knowledge to compensate for age-related declines in vision, cognitive abilities, and motor skills. This means that older individuals can search for and use information from the Web as effectively as younger people but -- in doing so -- they tend to use different search strategies. Some of the areas where older adults fare better than younger individuals are at interpreting the relevance of web links and adopting better overall navigating strategies to reduce demand in memory (remembering and keeping track of where they have visited) and motor (clicking and scrolling) operations. In this project, the researchers will conduct empirical studies to systematically understand these age-related differences and develop comprehensive theoretical models of Web search and navigation that capture these age-related differences. The chief broader impact of this research is improved accessibility of web-based material for older adults. The researchers will develop a suite of interface tools that are optimized for older Web users, as well as theory-based guidelines for Web designs that are sensitive to age-related individual differences. Other broader impacts include training graduate and undergraduate students and integrating the research findings into teaching materials so that results from the project will benefit students.In this project, the researchers will use a combination of empirical studies (experiments with individuals between 65 and 75 years old and with individuals 20 to 30 years old) and computational models to carry out this project. The use of the two methods will allow the researchers to compare and test the strength of the models against actual human behavior. Currently, the literature in this area suggests older individuals have difficulties in the following areas when seeking information online: formulating relevant queries to achieve the search goal, evaluating results provided by search engines, and changing or adapting search strategies to find information. The experimental data compiled and analyzed here will help determine which of these underlying issues are most critical in understanding age-related differences in Web search and navigation strategies.