Known-item search is a specialization of information exploration which represents the activities carried out by searchers who have a particular item in mind. In the context of
library catalogs, known‐item search means a search for an item for which the author or title is known. Although the concept of known-item search originated in
library science
Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...
, it is now applied in the context of
web search
A search engine is a software system that provides hyperlinks to web pages, and other relevant information on the Web in response to a user's query. The user enters a query in a web browser or a mobile app, and the search results are typically ...
and other online search activities. Known-item search is distinguished from
exploratory search
Exploratory search is a specialization of information exploration which represents the activities carried out by searchers who are:
* unfamiliar with the domain of their goal (i.e. need to learn about the topic in order to understand how to achieve ...
, in which a searcher is unfamiliar with the domain of their search goal, unsure about the ways to achieve their goal, and/or unsure about what their goal is.
[Ryen W. White and Resa A. Roth (2009). ''Exploratory Search: Beyond the Query-Response Paradigm'', San Rafael, CA: Morgan and Claypool.]
References
Information science
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