Exploring novice users' training needs in searching information on the World Wide Web.

Searching for information on the WWW involves locating a website and locating information on that site. A recent study implied that novice users' training needs exclusively relate to locating websites. The present case study tried to reveal the knowledge and skills that constitute these training needs. Fourteen pre-university students, classified as novice (n = 7) or experienced WWW-user (n = 7) performed three web search tasks. Their actions and verbalisations were recorded. Between-group comparisons showed minimal performance differences. However, qualitative analyses of novice users' search performance suggest that their ability to locate websites could be enhanced by instructing monitoring skills and advanced system knowledge.