Search Engine Result Visualisation: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The rank-ordered list format is the prevailing result presentation format of all the major Internet search engine providers. The format itself has seen few changes over the course of the Internet's history, aside from the emergence of the snippet. However, there are indications that the result presentation format is undergoing some evolutionary changes. The discussion will examine primarily the structural aspects of alternative formats to the traditional list format and motivate a program of comparative evaluation. A summary of current structure templates provides a resource for designers of future result visualizations.