Analysis of multimedia needs and searching features an exploratory study

To understand users' multimedia needs and searching behaviors on the Web, this study observed and interviewed twenty college students" multimedia searching behaviors in Korea. By analyzing the data set of this study, the preliminary findings are presented in terms of needs and uses, searching sources, relevance criteria, and search barriers for multimedia resources. Participants searched multimedia resources with diverse needs and uses. With a wide variety of needs, participants were likely to search multimedia resources using search engines mostly because of their familiarity. Particularly, when they search multimedia for their entertainment, file quality and copyright were significant criteria for relevance judgment. Insufficient visual description and limited preview features were reported as major search barriers.