Much research exists into formal aspects of learning - for example, the learning of students in college and university, and that of employees in work environments. Much less research has focused on less formal lifelong learning by citizens - and particularly into the web-based learning of this group. Within this relatively autonomous learning context, information seeking plays a central role. As well as enabling the delivery of specially devised learning objects and other pedagogically designed materials, the web offers opportunities as a vast learning resource of less structured and pre-digested learning resources accessible via effective autonomous information seeking. This paper reports the finding of a study of how the general public search for information on the web, focusing on the interactions between human individual differences (including cognitive styles, search experience and gender) and search strategies. The research aim was to contribute to a model of how different people search for information which might ultimately be capable of driving adaptive personalised search interfaces and mechanisms designed to support individual lifelong learners. The study involved sessions during which 91 volunteers were observed conducting a mixture of self-selected and prescribed Web searches. In addition, data was collected concerning individual differences between subjects. Statistical analysis determined complex links between searchers' individual differences (i.e., gender, experience and cognitive style) and the search strategies they deploy. Based on these results a tentative conceptual framework was synthesised depicting interactions between these variables. The links we have identified between individual differences and search strategies suggest that experience, gender and cognitive styles should all be taken into account when tailoring interventions to better support the individual.
