The use of grounded theory in identifying the user experience during search

• Straussian grounded theory was used to explore image searching in multilingual environments.
• Three approaches to the analysis were adopted: open, axial, and selective coding.
• The 27 concepts which emerged were divided into preconditions, actions, and consequences.
• Four factors were identified: knowledge of languages, query domain, system, and search.

Grounded theory offers a useful method for gaining an understanding of the context of the user experience when searching on an experimental multilingual image retrieval system. Observational, cognitive and affective data were collected while users searched for images in a multilingual environment. Straussian grounded theory was used to identify the elements of the dynamic process of information searching behaviour. The stages in which the data were coded are outlined to show how users' thoughts and actions were integrated in the analysis and to present and visualise the emerging concepts as representative of the context of the user experience.