Peter Pirolli & Stuart Card (1999)
Psychological Review, 106(4), 643-675.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.4.643
Abstract. Borrowing optimal-foraging theory from behavioural ecology, Pirolli and Card model information-seeking on the web as a profitability-versus-cost problem: users follow "scent" cues and move on when the marginal value of patches falls below alternatives. The theoretical underpinning for many modern navigation and search heuristics.
Tags: predictive web search-behaviour