Table 3.

Coding scheme for search activities.

Stage	Search activity code	Description
Querying
	Q:AccSE	Access a general search engine/information retrieval system as the starting point during a health information search session.
	Q:AccHW	Access a consumer health informatics website as the starting point during a health information search session.
	Q:NewQ	Issue a new query, which is usually the first query in the search session.
	Q:ModQ	Reformulate the previous query to obtain more general/specific retrieval results.
Accessing
	A:SelHI	Select and access a retrieved item from a health/medical website.
	A:SelGI	Select and access a retrieved item from a general/non-health-specific website.
	A:XplorF	In the retrieved item selected, access a link to another webpage that has not been visited before.
	A:AccB	Access a previously visited webpage using the browser’s back button, by following hyperlinks, or by tracking the history.
Evaluating
	E:ExamSR	Examine the results retrieved to identify items (webpages) that contain potentially relevant health information.
	E:DisSR	Discard the results retrieved with or without examining their relevance.
	E:EvalI	Evaluate the selected item from the retrieved results or visit a webpage to determine its relevance.
	E:FindQ	Search for a specific keyword on a visited webpage.
Using
	U:UseHI	Assess the visited health/medical webpage as a relevant source and use the information it contains to answer the questions in the search task.
	U:UseGI	Assess the visited general/non–health-specific webpage as a relevant source and use the information it contains to answer the questions in the search task.
Discarding
	D:DisHI	Assess the visited health/medical webpage as an irrelevant source.
	D:DisGI	Assess the visited general/non-health-specific webpage as an irrelevant source.
	D:UnchkHI	Discard the selected health/medical webpage without visiting and evaluating its relevance.
	D:UnchkGI	Discard the selected general/non–health-specific webpage without visiting and evaluating its relevance.