Online Health Information Consumers’ Learning across Health-Related Search Tasks from the Perspective of Retrieval Platform Switching (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Online health information retrieval has been a top choice for acquiring health information and knowledge by millions worldwide. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate consumers’ modification of retrieval platform switch paths across health-related search tasks and learning via such a change. METHODS A lab user experiment was designed to obtain data on consumers’ health information search behavior. Participants accomplished health-related information search tasks. Screen movements were recorded by EV screen-recording software. The participants underwent in-depth interviews immediately after finishing the tasks. Screen recordings and interview data were both coded and analyzed. RESULTS Three types of learning, including the similar transfer learning, optimizing learning, and SERP-guided learning were identified based on five change patterns of retrieval platform switch paths adopted by health information consumers from task 1 to task 2. Health information consumers’ retrieval platform switch based on information usefulness evaluation. And they accessed different amounts and types of health knowledge from different retrieval platforms. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that health information consumers exhibit learning both through retrieval platform switching and the knowledge they consume during the search process. This facilitates the assessment of a certain retrieval platform’s usefulness by measuring the amount and types of health knowledge in each search result. This study also contributes to the enhancement of consumers’ health information retrieval abilities, and to helping optimize health information retrieval platforms by increasing their exposure to consumers and increasing the matching degree between knowledge types and consumer needs.