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Information Retrieval and Search Behavior

Information Retrieval and Search Behavior is a research topic within Information Systems. Science Explorer counts 9.5k research works in it since 1952. 34.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on information retrieval techniques, search engine optimization, user behavior analysis, learning to rank algorithms, query analysis, relevance feedback, clickthrough data interpretation, language models for information retrieval, and evaluation methods for web search. The papers cover a wide range of topics related to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of information retrieval systems.

  • Information Retrieval
  • Search Engines
  • User Behavior
  • Learning to Rank
  • Query Analysis
  • Relevance Feedback
  • Clickthrough Data
  • Language Models
  • Web Search
  • Evaluation Methods
Research works
9.5k
fractional, since 1952
In the world top 10%
3.3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
34.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
-32%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Information Retrieval and Search Behavior research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (183 and 155 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 183 works
  2. 2 China 155 works
  3. 3 India 89 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 50 works
  5. 5 Germany 44 works
  6. 6 Canada 36 works
  7. 7 Netherlands 27 works
  8. 8 Australia 27 works
  9. 9 Japan 25 works
  10. 10 Italy 19 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 27.9%China: 23.6%India: 13.6%United Kingdom: 7.6%6 others listed: 27.2%28%largest
United States183 · 27.9%China155 · 23.6%India89 · 13.6%United Kingdom50 · 7.6%6 others listed178 · 27.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Information Retrieval and Search Behavior research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Renmin University of China publishes the most Information Retrieval and Search Behavior research, followed by University of Glasgow and University of Waterloo.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Renmin University of ChinaChina 13 works
  2. 2 University of GlasgowUnited Kingdom 10 works
  3. 3 University of WaterlooCanada 8 works
  4. 4 University of AmsterdamNetherlands 7 works
  5. 5 University of StrathclydeUnited Kingdom 7 works
  6. 6 Jadavpur UniversityIndia 7 works
  7. 7 Amazon (United States)United States 7 works
  8. 8 RMIT UniversityAustralia 6 works
  9. 9 University of OklahomaUnited States 6 works
  10. 10 The University of MelbourneAustralia 5 works

Who are the leading researchers in Information Retrieval and Search Behavior?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Information Retrieval and Search Behavior include Susan Dumais, Thorsten Joachims and Joseph A. Konstan.

  1. 1 Susan Dumais United States 4.8k citations
  2. 2 Thorsten Joachims United States 4.2k citations
  3. 3 Joseph A. Konstan United States 3.9k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Information Retrieval and Search Behavior research done?

The largest centres of Information Retrieval and Search Behavior research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Glasgow (United Kingdom), Melbourne (Australia) and Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 55 works
  2. 2 Glasgow United Kingdom 17 works
  3. 3 Melbourne Australia 15 works
  4. 4 Amsterdam Netherlands 12 works
  5. 5 London United Kingdom 11 works
  6. 6 Seattle United States 11 works
  7. 7 Tokyo Japan 10 works
  8. 8 Bengaluru India 10 works
  9. 9 Kolkata India 10 works
  10. 10 Seoul South Korea 9 works
See Information Retrieval and Search Behavior on the map

Where is the best place to study Information Retrieval and Search Behavior?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Glasgow, Renmin University of China and University of Waterloo score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 University of GlasgowUnited Kingdom 48.943.3%19.2×10 -59.2%
2 Renmin University of ChinaChina 38.434.0%43.7×13 +81.7%
3 University of WaterlooCanada 15.832.8%16.3×8 +2.4%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Information Retrieval and Search Behavior research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 32% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2026.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.