Exploratory search is a specialization of information exploration which represents the activities carried out by searchers who are either:
- a) unfamiliar with the domain of their goal (i.e. need to learn about the topic in order to understand how to achieve their goal)
- b) unsure about the ways to achieve their goals (either the technology or the process)
- c) or even unsure about their goals in the first place.
Consequently, exploratory search covers a broader class of activities than typical information retrieval, such as investigating, evaluating, comparing, and synthesizing, where new information is sought in a defined conceptual area; exploratory data analysis is another example of an information exploration activity. Typically, therefore, such users generally combine querying and browsing strategies to foster learning and investigation.
Read more about Exploratory Search: History, Major Figures
Famous quotes containing the word search:
“The danger lies in forgetting what we had. The flow between generations becomes a trickle, grandchildren tape-recording grandparents’ memories on special occasions perhaps—no casual storytelling jogged by daily life, there being no shared daily life what with migrations, exiles, diasporas, rendings, the search for work. Or there is a shared daily life riddled with holes of silence.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)