Thanks to all who set this confused user right about Amazon's advanced
search. I thought I remembered using it at one time but couldn't find it
from the main page, so I thought it had disappeared!
Does this say something about interface design, or about the difficulty of
making complex choices simple for the user, or... ?
———-
My guess is it means that their usability testing pushed them to HIDE
"advanced search" on the grounds that users having trouble searching would
be inclined to use it, thereby making a bad search worse. That was certainly
a finding congruent with work we've done.
————
When we analyze user searches in our catalogs, and find that most of them
use the "Google box" general keyword search, is it because users like that
search better? Or because the advanced search is tucked away in a
relatively obscure place? Or because it isn't obvious how to use the
advanced search and after a failure or two, they give up? Or because there
are so many advanced searches out there, each one is different, and they
don't have time to figure out another one?
———
When we say "advanced search," what do we mean? A search that cannot be
accomplished through basic search? If that's the case, then "advanced
search" sounds less like advancement and more like remediation to address
findability issues not achievable through basic search.
Sometimes "advanced search" is really "targeted audience" search.
Karen G. Schneider
kgs_at_bluehighways.com
Received on Mon Jun 12 2006 - 12:07:34 EDT