{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "How Kids Search |Digital.gov",
    "description": "How Kids Search",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2012/08/06/how-kids-search/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"How Kids Search","summary" : "Kids and adults use Web search tools differently. Kids fail more often, because they often don’t have enough knowledge or experience to search using the right keywords, or understand search results. If you’re designing websites for kids, remember that they use search tools differently than adults. Kids prefer surfing over searching.","date" : "2012-08-06T11:11:43-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"david-kaufmann" : "David Kaufmann","michelle-chronister" : "Michelle Chronister"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "social-media" : "Social media",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2012-08-06-how-kids-search.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2012/08/2012-08-06-how-kids-search.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2012/08/2012-08-06-how-kids-search.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2012/08/2012-08-06-how-kids-search.md","slug" : "how-kids-search","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2012/08/06/how-kids-search/","content" :"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/Community-Center-Kids-Computers-Google-Creative-Commons-300x151.jpg\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/01/Community-Center-Kids-Computers-Google-Creative-Commons-300x151.jpg\"\n    /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003eKids and adults use Web search tools differently. Kids fail more often, because they often don’t have enough knowledge or experience to search using the right keywords, or understand search results.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’re designing websites for kids, remember that they use search tools differently than adults. Kids prefer surfing over searching. If kids can’t easily find what they want, they will likely:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMiss important content\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBecome frustrated\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeave your website and not come back\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"help-kids-search-successfully\"\u003eHelp Kids Search Successfully\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’re thinking about putting a customized search engine just for kids on your site, you should understand how kids use search engines. Some best practices for designing for adult users also apply to kids, but many do not.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKids think they know how to use search engines, but they fail to find what they want most of the time when they search, because they:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t know that search engines will only look for Web pages with the exact words they search for\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHave difficulty just typing and spelling (especially children under 11) so they can’t create effective searches\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo not scroll, so they miss search results below the fold\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGet frustrated with multiple results because they can’t choose the best or most relevant result\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t understand the results page and don’t know why they got more than one result\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlmost always select only the first result\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo help kids use your search engine, and find the content they need:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExplain to young users what the search engine does with the words they type in the box\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLimit results from keyword searches to five per page, since kids rarely scroll\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExplain what the results mean and why they should try them all\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t rely on a help page to explain search, because kids, like adults, won’t use it. If you do create one, explain how to turn a failed search into a successful one by using different search terms\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you can, create simple content that appears when an important, common search term is used, such as is done for \u003ca href=\"http://search.usa.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93\u0026amp;sc=0\u0026amp;query=hurricane\u0026amp;m=false\u0026amp;affiliate=usagov\u0026amp;filter=moderate\u0026amp;commit=Search\"\u003ethis search of “hurricane” on USA.gov\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOffer results from “related searches” to help kids come up with new and useful search terms. (Note, most kids won’t find these if they are placed at the bottom of the page.)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFor children who can’t spell well, auto-complete is a big help\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you can, use a brief video on your search page to explain how search works\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf your website is organized by topic, younger children (under age seven) will likely have problems understanding the site’s organization (taxonomy), and will have a difficult time finding information.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo help kids use your directory:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreate A-to-Z directories for both topics and subjects. This helps kids find topics they can’t spell\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse subject headings that repeat school subjects, such as history, science, and geography\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreate a picture of your directory, such as a tree. This will help kids understand how you’ve organized the information\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTest your categories to make sure that you’ve collected the right top tasks and that kids can find certain types of information\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYoung children are literal. They are learning to tell fact from fiction, and are on the lookout for what they think are tricks. For example:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo not use sarcasm. Kids can’t judge beyond the words because they don’t have enough experience evaluating tone or meaning, and they’ll interpret as fact.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo not use silly characters to convey true facts. Kids are alert to tricks and will not trust your silly characters. Consider “Sesame Street” as an example of what works: on this show, the human adult characters tell the silly monsters the right way to do things.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse icons that match the ideas you’re trying to convey. Kids are put off by wrong icons and won’t trust your page.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"references-and-additional-resources\"\u003eReferences and Additional Resources\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBilal, D., \u0026amp; Wang, P. (2005). \u003ca href=\"http://ithreads.pbworks.com/f/concepts.pdf\"\u003eChildrenʼs Conceptual Structures of Science Categories and the Design of Web Directories\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 111 KB, 11 pages, August 2005). \u003cem\u003eJournal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology\u003c/em\u003e, 56(12), 1303-1313.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDruin, A., Foss, E., Hatley, L., Golub, E., Guha, M. L., Fails, J., \u0026amp; Hutchinson, H. (2009).\u003ca href=\"http://hcil.cs.umd.edu/trs/2009-04/2009-04.pdf\"\u003eHow Children Search the Internet with Keyword Interfaces\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 298 KB, 9 pages, February 2009). Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children IDC 09, 89. ACM Press.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDruin, A., Foss, E., Hutchinson, H., Golub, E., \u0026amp; Hatley, L. (2010). \u003ca href=\"http://dmrussell.net/CHI2010/docs/p413.pdf\"\u003eChildren’s Roles Using Keyword Search Interfaces at Home\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 1.4 MB, 10 pages, January 2010). \u003cem\u003eHuman Factors\u003c/em\u003e, 413-422.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLarge, J. A., \u0026amp; Beheshti, J. (2005). \u003ca href=\"http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/3478\"\u003eInterface Design, Web Portals, and Children\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 1.3 MB, 25 pages, December 2007). \u003cem\u003eLibrary Trends\u003c/em\u003e, 54(2), 318-342. Citeseer.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLarge, A., Beheshti, J., \u0026amp; Rahman, T. (2002). \u003ca href=\"https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~i385q/spring2005/readings/Large_Beheshti-2002-Design.pdf\"\u003eDesign Criteria for Childrenʼs Web portals: The Users Speak Out\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 202 KB, 16 pages, January 2002). \u003cem\u003eJournal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology\u003c/em\u003e, 53(2), 79-94.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n"}
  ]
}