FACULTY OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

MARA OF TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY KAMPUS PUNCAK PERDANA SHAH ALAM

BACHELOR OF INFORMATION CONTENT MANAGEMENT

WEB CONTENT SEARCH AND RETRIEVAL (ICM663)

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: ARTICLE

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL FOR YOUNG USER

PREPARED FOR:
PROFESOR MADYA DR ZAHARUDIN BIN IBRAHIM

PREPARED BY:
MOHAMMAD ALIF HAIQAL BIN ABDULLAH (2020860214)

SUBMITTION DATE:
14 AUGUST 2022
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this paperwork required a lot of guidance and assistance
from many people. I am extremely fortunate to have got this all along until the completion of
this assignment. What I have done is only due to such guidance and assistance and would
not forget to thank those who had helped me.

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me the possibility to
complete this assignment. A special gratitude I would like to give to my respected lecturer,
Profesor Madya Dr Zaharudin B Ibrahim for giving me an opportunity to do this assignment
work and providing all support and guidance which made me complete the assignment on
time.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to all those who have directly and indirectly guided me
in creating this case study. Many people, especially my classmates have made valuable
comment suggestions on my assignment which gave me inspiration to improve the quality of
my work. Thank you so much.
 ICM 663 | INFORMATION RETRIEVAL FOR YOUNG USER

ABSTRACT

In this paper, it presents the state of the art in the field of information retrieval that is relevant
for understanding how to design information retrieval systems for children. This paper also
describes basic theories of human development to explain the specifics of young users, for
example, their cognitive skills, fine motor skills, knowledge, memory and emotional states in
so far as they differ from those of adults. Other than that, it derives the implications these
differences have on the design of information retrieval systems for children. These findings
are important to understand children’s information needs, their search strategies and usage
of information retrieval systems. This paper also identifies several weaknesses of previous
user studies about children’s information seeking behaviour. Guided by the findings of these
user studies, it describes challenges for the design of information retrieval systems for young
users. This paper also describes existing information retrieval systems for children, in specific
web search engines and digital libraries.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, practically every family has access to a computer and the Internet, and the number
of kids who have grown up using contemporary technology and online services grows every.
Children today are particularly active users of technology, including cellphones. According to
data on telephone usage, children between the ages of five and nine spend roughly 28
minutes online each day, and this number is rising. According to KIM1 Germany 2010, 70%
of German children ages six to thirteen use search engines, with around 60% of them using
the Internet. Children abuse the Internet by using it for social interaction, playing online
games, and for amusement. Additionally, students utilise the Internet to do research for
assignments for school or to get other information like news., weather and sports. More than
half of kids use the Internet unsupervised and without a parent. Sadly, not all of them are
successful in their information explorations, and younger kids in particular have trouble. Many
websites that offer specialised search services for children have been developed, such as
askkids.com, to better assist kids in their search duties.

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Right now, their major objective is to assist kids in finding online content that is appropriate
for them. This is only one crucial component of the search engine, though. The usefulness of
this search engine is a key component. Sadly, the architecture of current search engines has
several problems, such as not always taking a child's talents and abilities into account.
Another problem for kids is that while there are many effective methods for adults to get
information, there are currently few studies on how to create search engines for kids in terms
of user interfaces and fundamental algorithms. Children must learn how to find information on
the Internet, so it's crucial to provide them with the resources they need to succeed. Therefore,
it is crucial to do research on information retrieval systems for young users.

Children's cognitive, emotional, linguistic, and fine motor skills, as well as their perceptions
and knowledge, are different from those of adult users, as this article has demonstrated. For
this reason, search engines aimed at kids should be built with kid-specific features to make
them more accessible to their user base. This study seeks to highlight the current state of the
art crucial for comprehending the unique difficulties in designing IR systems for kids. This is
crucial for both system designers and academics just starting out in this area. This research
mainly focuses on information search in web document collections when addressing kid
search behaviour and information acquisition methods for children. The youngster wants to
find information that will meet their information demands throughout the search.

Web documents can include images and other types of media, although they typically take
the form of text and are written in plain language. However, the primary concern of this article
is young users' searches for textual content. Children require a particular search engine that
should be created with their unique wants and requirements in mind if they are to search
effectively. A collection of fundamental (online) documents for children is crucial for kids to
succeed in search, in addition to having a decent search engine for kids.

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2.0 ASPECTS OF CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT IMPORTANT FOR INFORMATION

RETRIEVAL TASKS

Designing tools for kids requires focusing on very specific age ranges. This objective is made
possible by studies in cognitive science concerning human development. This section of the
essay will briefly discuss a model of human cognitive development, the central idea of
information processing theory, and a theory of human psychosocial development that explain
why children's emotional states, cognitive abilities, and motor skills differ from those of adults
and are still developing in them. More details on cognitive science ideas and how they affect
the creation of kid-friendly digital environments may be found in.

2.1 Human Cognitive Development

Children are human beings whose cognitive abilities are not fully formed. The basic theory of
human intellectual development is given by Piaget’s theory. Piaget’s theory explains the
differences in the human abilities at different age stages. It says that human development
occurs in a sequential order in which later knowledge, abilities and skills build upon the
previous ones. According to Piaget, there are four human developmental stages the first one
is sensorimotor (age 0–2), second pre-operational (age 2–7), third concrete operational (age
7–11) and the last one is formal operational (age 11-...). These are distinct cognitive
development stages with unique patterns of thoughts.

2.2 Information Processing Theory

From the standpoint of information processing, the so-called neo-Piagetian theorists

characterise cognitive development across Piaget's developmental phases. The core tenet of
the theory, which has numerous versions, is that children absorb information differently than
adults do, particularly in terms of how they use the information and the memory constraints
they have, such as caps on the quantity of information they can store. Children are able to
represent and think. Working memory, long-term memory, and sensory memory are all
necessary for thought. The sensory memory receives and stores both internal and external
inputs, including sounds or images. This unanalyzed information is stored briefly, for a few
seconds, during which unconscious processes determine whether to transfer it to the working
memory or discard it. Active thinking, for example problem–solving or constructing of new
strategies requires the use of information stored in the working memory.

This is accomplished by combining information from the long-term memory with information
from sensory memory to create "new" knowledge. The capacity of the working memory is
constrained; for instance, it can only manage a certain amount of symbols simultaneously.
Without additional processing, information will be lost. There are no practical restrictions on

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the quantity of information or storage time for long-term information. Although long-term
memory is seldom lost, it might be challenging to access. Young children learn new skills and
how to perform new tasks using their working memory. Having no or less experience than
adolescents or adults, children’s information processing requires a larger portion of working
memory. After a child successfully performs a task, some basic process information can be
transferred to long-term memory.

Working memory acquires a bit of empty space and the child’s learning of new tasks can
continue. Thus, older children have a greater chance or need less time to successfully perform
complex tasks involving many processes, as they can retrieve some processes from long-
term memory and perform them automatically. Young children have to think through most of
the processes, which leads to a large load on the working memory capacity. Children’s
working memory capacity for verbal or visual information increases with age. Younger children
require a longer period of time than older ones to perform the same process.

As kids become older, their processing speeds increase. A spacing phase plus a homing
phase make up the pointing movement that is necessary to use the input device. The homing
phase does not move continuously. More micro corrections may be made in the same period
of time with a higher information processing rate, which results in smoother motion and
improved performance. This fact explains why young children do poorly in pointing tasks like
using a mouse compared to adults, and how performance improves with age.

2.3 Psychosocial Development

Another perspective on human development is given by Erik Erikson’s. He considers change

from a psychosocial point of view. A child is immature in the emotional domain and, especially
in the ‘‘ industry versus low self ’’ stage (ages 6-12) needs emotional support and a sense of
success and increased confidence. He found that young children wanted to learn and
produce. They want to achieve skills that seem important to their cultural environment and
win the recognition of parents, teachers and peers by doing so. Finding information on the
Internet is an important skill that children need to develop. If a child is successful in finding
information, it will feel competent and build self-confidence. On the other hand, if it is not
possible to find good results, the child may experience feelings of incompetence. This can
even lead to feelings of inferiority.

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3.0 Implications On Design Of Information Retrieval Systems

The study that follows addresses the effects of several facets of human development on the
creation of information retrieval systems. Cognitive Progress Because they have relatively
limited reading skills, humans in the sensorimotor and pre-operative developmental phases
are exceedingly unlikely to employ information retrieval systems. Additionally, they are more
inclined to play online games or watch movies than to inquire about anything. Children who
are in the concrete operating stage and have unique demands and traits are prospective users
of IR systems. These children have more difficulty translating their information needs into
keyword queries than adults. Finding the right question requires the ability to think in abstract
categories, a large vocabulary and good writing skills, which children do not possess at the
concrete operation level.

Therefore, tools for query refining and spelling correction are necessary in keyword-oriented
search IR systems. Children struggle with abstract ideas, thus browsing-supporting IR
systems should use real-world categories that kids can grasp. Giving children voice menus
and visual aids in addition to text is a wonderful way to help them overcome their reading
difficulties since kids can understand written text before they can think in visuals. Additionally,
the manner in which the investigation's findings are presented should be considered in light
of the child's level of cognitive development, such as using simple language and including
screenshots of the document.

Information Processing Theory is that the process of retrieving information can cause a child's
memory to be excessive. The graphical user interface of IR systems should be straightforward
and consistent to assist children's weak cognitive memory. Children are therefore more likely
to process information displayed on a screen. Children's opinions can be supported by the
employment of familiar colours and object forms. Children who have a lot on their minds could
forget things they've done, such searches they've made or papers with intriguing content. IR
systems should thus have a built-in history and result store mechanism to help children's
cognitive memory. A graphical user interface should promote children's motor skills by
including big objects and buttons as well as straightforward interactions.

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Psychosocial development can be defined as immature children in the emotional domain, the
IR system should provide emotional support in the form of extensive assistance mechanisms.
All actions that could lead to failure in recovery should be covered by the system and guidance
should be given if such actions are committed by children. The mentor figure can capture a
child’s failures such as not getting results or entering blank questions and explaining ways to
do better. While the cognitive science of human development provides background, which
helps understand human differences at different ages, the following section provides another
perspective by reviewing user studies with children and their results, which are consistent with
and can be explained by the given. facts from the domain of cognitive science.

4.0 Children’s Information Seeking Behavior

For many years, sociologists have examined how kids seek for information. As school
classrooms with computers became more common in the 1990s, research on children's
information-seeking behaviour started. In the beginning, the researchers observed kids
working in groups on various activities on school computers. Children then started using
computers on their own as they became more widely available. But the truth remains that
most consumer research involving kids are conducted in school settings like lab trials. As a
result, the controlled atmosphere of this study might have influenced the results. However,
often a mixed-age sample of young children is used in the majority of studies on child
information-seeking behaviour.

Query-oriented search engines and catalog-oriented search engines are the two main types
of search engine interfaces now in use. When using catalog-oriented search, as opposed to
query-oriented search engines, the user browses/navigates via pre-defined categories. Both
interface designs that search engines incorporate are often used. Children do better and enjoy
browsing, according to researchers who studied the topic. This preference may be because
browsing requires less cognitive effort. To recall concepts from memory rather than only
recognising and responding to terms that are presented, more knowledge is needed.
According to Christine L. Borgman, browsing aligns with kids' "natural urge to explore."
Additionally, it better accommodates kids' motor abilities. While keyword-focused search
engines demand accurate spelling and typing, surfing may be done with only a simple point-
and-click. However, there might be issues when browsing. Children could have trouble
locating the appropriate category since they have little domain knowledge and a limited
vocabulary. Therefore, it's crucial to create categories that correspond to kids' cognitive
capacities.

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5.0 Existing Algorithms And User Interface Concepts

Children's information-seeking behaviour was first studied by sociologists decades ago, which
is when it first emerged. In order to leverage algorithms and methods from information
acquisition, natural language processing, machine learning, and human computer interaction,
computer scientists linked them a few years ago. In this section, we discuss relevant work in
the area of paediatric IR, such as approaches suggested by computer scientists to support
paediatric IR and modify IR systems to meet the requirements of young users.

Young users' search results should be appropriate for children while also not being overly
complex for them, according to the search system designed for them. As a result, creating
document collections (indexes) becomes problematic. One way to make a collection kid-
friendly is manually, but there are other options as well. Before being indexed by the IR
system, educators evaluate the appropriateness of the papers and content. This method has
a high cost and only reviews a small number of papers, yet it ensures accurate outcomes.
Second occurs automatically. In addition, one may utilise machine learning techniques, such
categorization, to find relevant material. The machine approach allows checking a large
number of documents, but misclassification is not uncommon. The two methods should be
ideally combined to maximize both accuracy and recall: first automatically identifying potential
documents and then manually validating them.

Language difficulty might vary while writing text or online content. Therefore, just supplying
children with safe content is not sufficient; they also need to be able to grasp what it means.
There are several solutions to this issue. Texts written in a difficult language can first be made
simpler. In the lexical scenario, they make the text simpler to read by gradually replacing each
word with a synonym, for instance using language models from a sizable, unlabelled WordNet.
They broke apart big statements into several simple ones in the syntactic instance.

Without deleting information from the text, the researchers were unable to sufficiently ease
the reading difficulties for kids. Syntactic simplification was unsuccessful. Results from lexical
simplification were encouraging. Changing the results ranking such that the papers written in
simple language are rated higher and are displayed first to youngsters is another technique to
give material that is easy to grasp. The next sections explore strategies that adhere to this
notion.

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6.0 Existing Information Retrieval Systems For Children

A kid-friendly search and browsing tool was created for the International Children's Digital
Library by Bederson and Druin in 2006. When building the system, they took into account how
differently motor skills develop in youngsters and offered both huge symbols and
straightforward Point and Click interactions. The system offers browsing as well as searching,
and it uses child-friendly categories. To assist kids with limited reading skills, this category is
represented by icons. Using the category buttons, search results may be refined according to
various criteria. Boolean conjunctive operations are also displayed in the user interface when
categories are selected in a certain order. Existing children's web search engines are identical
to adult search engines in every other way. They have a keyword -based interface. Therefore,
children should enter a text query into the input field in the first place to start the search

Flat categories are also included in a few web search engines. For instance, the five
categories of music, history, animals, computer games, sports, and amusement are displayed
on quinturakids.com as moving kites. The way that search results are shown is also extremely
reminiscent of traditional search engines like Google, such as a vertical list of text snippet
results. The good news is that some search engines include images in addition to written
descriptions to help youngsters choose results based on relevance.

Spellchecking and query suggestion features, which are crucial for kids in particular, are
absent from many kid-friendly search engines. For instance, askkids.com does not handle
incorrectly worded inquiries. Small text fonts, which are challenging for young readers to read,
are another negative. As a result, existing kid-friendly online search engines don't necessarily
correspond with kids' knowledge and capabilities. Therefore, utilising them could frustrate kids.
It's important to consider other factors in addition to child-friendly material in order to prevent
these issues. The search interface must be kid-friendly (kids can use it), so kids can use it
without any issues.

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7.0 Conclusion

Information retrieval for young users is still in the early stages of this work. There are currently
no reliable and accepted options for an IR system tailored to children. It was the goal of this
study to give a summary of the field's past successes. Information retrieval for young users is
a complicated subject, nevertheless. It has a close connection to sociology research on
children's information-seeking behaviour and cognitive science research on how humans
grow. There has already been a lot learned in those two areas that can be applied to young
users' information retrieval. Cognitive science discusses the unique characteristics of kids in
various age groups and aids in determining the specifications for the construction of IR
systems. In this paper,it should provide a short overview of the basic theories about human
development and derived implications for children’s information retrieval systems. When
designing information retrieval systems for young users, it should always keep in mind, that
children’s cognitive and motor skills are developing and differ from that of adults. Children
also require emotional support and a feeling of success otherwise they easily acquire feelings
of helplessness and inferiority.

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8.0 References

Bilal, D. (2021, November 30). learntechlib. Retrieved from Children's Use of the
Yahooligans! Web Search Engine: I. Cognitive, Physical, and Affective Behaviors on Fact-
based Search Tasks: https://www.learntechlib.org/p/87478/

Card, S. M. (1986, July 28). Handbook of Perception and Human. Retrieved from The model human
processor – An engineering model of human performance:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1986-98619-023

Hourcade, J. P., Bederson, B. B., Druin, A., & Guimbretière, F. (2004, December).
researchgate. Retrieved from Differences in pointing task performance between preschool
children and adults using mice: https://scihub.wf/10.1145/1035575.1035577

Large, A., Beheshti, J., & Rahman, T. (2002, January). researchgate. Retrieved from Design criteria for
children's Web Portals: The users speak out: https://scihub.wf/10.1002/asi.10012

Saskia M. Akkersdijk, M. B. (2011, January 19). researchgate. Retrieved from an Alternative for
Vertical Results Lists of IR-Systems:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241875610_ImagePile_an_Alternative_f
or_Vertical_Results_Lists_of_IR-Systems

Sergio Duarte Torres, I. W. (2011, October). researchgate. Retrieved from What and How
Children Search on the Web: https://sci-hub.wf/10.1145/2063576.2063638

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