Enterprise search users assess the initial performance of a search application by looking through the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Once they have a sense of the direction taken by the application, they have two options, either to apply filters and facets or expand or revise the query. The latter is a relatively difficult option to execute. Hence, users take the filter/facet route in the hope that they will end up with relevant documents.
According to research published by Helene Hembrooke and her colleagues in 2005, queries could be expanded in nine different ways. While each of these works well in different situations, deciding which one to use requires training in all nine. Furthermore, enterprise search users may find expanding a query in multinational companies difficult because they might not have the language skills to execute it confidently. This is especially a problem for an enterprise search user deciding on which related words to use to expand a query when cognates are involved.
Another language factor, which comes into play, is whether the author of a document has used the correct term. Furthermore, every search application has a unique approach to dealing with search queries having two or more words. Therefore, enterprise search users need to know what the search application is doing to phrase searching. This is necessary because the search engine might not have the same semantic view of the expanded query as they do.
Briefly, when recall is important in a search session query, expansion is a crucial element of search success and satisfaction. Therefore, it is best to set out the options with relevant illustrations in the help pages of the search application. This will help when deciding on which of the nine approaches is the best starting point.
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