[finders] Clarify and Refine

[finders at findability.org]

June 2, 2008: Clarify and Refine

http://www.findability.org/archives/000213.php

At Endeca Discover I had an great conversation with Daniel Tunkelang about
his idea that, with respect to guided navigation, we should distinguish
between clarify and refine. First, we must clarify the meaning or context.
Are we in the right ballpark regarding the searcher's intent? Clarify is all
about disambiguation.

Then, we're ready to refine or narrow. Exactly what type of widget do you
want? Refine is about increasing specificity. In Is Search Broken? Daniel
hints at how we might cut through facets to clarify by leveraging guided
summarization.

It's a subtle distinction, but from a designer's perspective, I think it's a
valuable way to frame the search process. Clarify, then refine. What do you
think?