Searching for Cancer Information on the Internet
Author Information
Author(s): Judith L Bader, Mary Frances Theofanos, Robert Zeng, Kevin McCaul
Primary Institution: National Cancer Institute
Hypothesis
What do lay users want to know about cancer when searching online?
Conclusion
Natural-language searching allows users to express their information needs and can help improve the content provided on health websites.
Supporting Evidence
- 78.37% of sampled cancer queries asked about 14 specific cancer types.
- The most common cancer types mentioned were Digestive/Gastrointestinal/Bowel, Breast, Skin, and Genitourinary.
- Users often misspelled words in their queries, indicating a need for better search assistance.
Takeaway
People looking for cancer information online often ask about specific types of cancer and their treatments. They use full sentences and sometimes misspell words.
Methodology
The study analyzed 3 months of cancer-related queries from Ask.com, focusing on a sample of 7500 user questions categorized by cancer type and information needs.
Potential Biases
Potential biases in the sample due to the nature of the search engine and the demographics of its users.
Limitations
The study did not have access to raw query logs or user identities, which limits understanding of user behavior post-search.
Participant Demographics
General public users seeking cancer information online.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
1.11% at 95% confidence level
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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