Understanding Users' Language Selection: Code-switching in Online Searches.

Non-native English users search for information on websites that mostly present content in English. There has been increasing concern as to whether web users who speak non-native English languages can access information as effectively as native English users. Few studies have been done on how multi-lingual users search for information in two or more languages online, specifically how they switch languages in order to get satisfying search results. This research investigates the factors that impact native Chinese users' code-switching (Chinese-English) search behaviors when they seek information online and the challenges that users encounter. The methods of this research consist of two phases. In-context interviews will allow us to explore natural behaviors in the users' context in the first phase. Fifteen native Chinese participants will be recruited. A controlled eye-tracking study is planned for the second phase in order to examine different reading patterns of these bilingual web users and what web elements they focus on. Thirty native Chinese will be recruited in this phase. The research aims to explore when, how, and why users switch languages, and examine the role of languages that users select in online searches.