The search paradigm by which a user types in 3 or 4 words for a query,
and receives a ranked list of results, becomes less effective when the
information the user seeks is not contained in a single document, or
even in a single category of resource. Furthermore, such an interface
which requires a user to scan a ranked list, and click the result and
then search the document for the information, is cumbersome if the user
is using a mobile phone, or hand-held device. As this is an emerging
area of interest, in a fast-growing and dynamic environment, there are a
number of directions search technology might take. Aggregated search is
the task of searching and assembling information from a variety of
sources, placing it in a single interface.

Examples of aggregated search include Alpha Yahoo and Universal Search
by Google. A single query yields results from a variety of vertical
searches, including image, video, community question answering sites,
news articles, and sponsored results. The challenge is to decide what
vertical properties to present results from, and how to organize the
results for the user. Furthermore, although Alpha Yahoo and Universal
Search are restricted to textual queries, it need not be the case as the
uses for search expand into a wider range of devices.

We encourage submission of papers and demos about result aggregation
over a variety of information sources such as blogs, images, etc., the
design of user interfaces for aggregated results and the evaluation of
such systems. These papers and demos must be within the overall workshop
theme of the aggregated search. The emphasis of the workshop is on
future directions for aggregated search.

IMPORTANT DATES

16 May: Paper submission deadline
6 June: Notification of acceptance
20 June: Camera-ready papers due

ORGANIZERS

Mounia Lalmas, Queen Mary University of London
Vanessa Murdock, Yahoo! Research Barcelona