2026 ALISE Annual Conference

Studies emphasized users’ queries as a way to evaluate search behavior (Hoeber et al., 2026; Lown et al., 2013; Park, 2000), but less attention has been given to how different search contexts shape the way users form and express their questions. This study compares queries across similar web search environments to understand how users express their information needs. The questions of interest are: (1) How do users’ queries differ in linguistic structure? (2) How does the level of specificity and clarity in user queries differ in a real-world questioning web environment? The study is being guided by Sense-Making Theory (Derwin, 1998) and Information Foraging Theory (Pirolli & Card, 1999) to explain the information gaps from the queries and provides a lens for understanding how users optimize query articulation under varying environments. The study employs a comparative quantitative design using search queries formulated in two large-scale, publicly available datasets from Microsoft and Google (i.e MS MARCO and Google Natural Questions), both of which are derived from real-world web search interactions. Query data will be extracted from each dataset and preprocessed to ensure comparability. Preprocessing steps include filtering for English-language queries, normalizing text, and retaining only query strings that reflect information-seeking behavior. To reduce contextual variability, queries will be further aligned by selecting subsets associated with general informational search tasks. The study has the potential to significantly advance understanding of what makes a good question by highlighting how question quality and structure are framed based on information needs in real-world search environments.