Undergraduate studentsʹ mental models of the Web as an information retrieval system

This study explored undergraduate studentsʹ mental models of the Web as an information retrieval system. Mental models play an important role in peopleʹs interaction with information systems. Better understanding of peopleʹs mental models could inspire better interface design and user instruction. Multiple data-collection methods, including questionnaire, semistructured interview, drawing, and participant observation, were used to elicit studentsʹ mental models of the Web from different perspectives, though only data from interviews and drawing descriptions are reported in this article. Content analysis of the transcripts showed that students had utilitarian rather than structural mental models of the Web. The majority of participants saw the Web as a huge information resource where everything can be found rather than an infrastructure consisting of hardware and computer applications. Students had different mental models of how information is organized on the Web, and the models varied in correctness and complexity. Studentsʹ mental models of search on the Web were illustrated from three points of view: avenues of getting information, understanding of search enginesʹ working mechanisms, and search tactics. The research results suggest that there are mainly three sources contributing to the construction of mental models: personal observation, communication with others, and class instruction. In addition to structural and functional aspects, mental models have an emotional dimension.