Indices and not-indices? (take II)

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Seem to have missed the original message, but Kevin included the  
following quote: <<Maybe 5% even open the index other than by  
accident when using search.>>

Where did this statistic come from? Is it a PSWAG (pseudoscientific  
wild-ass guess), or does it come from a published study in a  
reputable journal? I'll concede the point that almost everyone uses  
search at least once before trying something else, but the 5% number  
sounds highly suspect to me.

I recall a well-controlled study many years ago (maybe Jared Spool?  
I'd have to dig really deep to find it, so don't blame him if I got  
this wrong) that suggested most users start with the search tool,  
then move to the index if they don't find what they want by  
searching. I suspect this varies greatly depending on how abstruse  
the keywords are that are used by your software (the weirder the  
words, the more likely a non-expert user will not know them and will  
have to resort to synonyms), but it makes a lot of sense to me; it's  
certainly how I look for information, and it's how I've seen others  
look for information.

Treat that as anecdotal evidence; I haven't collected any statistics  
other than for myself.


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