Rethinking Click Models in Light of Carousel Interfaces: Theory-Based Categorization and Design of Click Models

Click model, Carousel interface, Model design

Despite the popularity of carousel interfaces for streaming
media services, academic research on them is very limited
compared to single-list interfaces. Existing click models are
primarily designed for single-list interfaces for the web search
setting, and as a result, are not well suited for carousel inter-
faces. Recent eye-tracking study results on carousel interfaces
indicate that user behavior in such interfaces is significantly
different from that observed in eye-tracking studies on single-
list interfaces. The unique layout of carousel interfaces appears
to significantly impact user behavior. Ignoring these salient
differences hinders the prediction and simulation of clicks on
carousel-based search engine result pages. Therefore, it re-
mains an open question how click models should be designed
specifically for carousel layouts, what design choices they
involve, and what their consequences may be.
To address this gap in the field and lay a foundation for
future research on this underexplored area, we outline the pos-
sibilities in model designs that capture the characteristics of
carousel layouts in click models, in the form of the first taxon-
omy of carousel click models. We propose taxonomies for both
traditional and carousel click models based on the way they
model click probabilities. Aligned with our new taxonomy, we
then introduce a new carousel click model. Both taxonomy and
proposed model are meant to serve as fundamental building
blocks for further developments in this field. Our contributions
can help researchers and practitioners categorize existing click
models and inspire the development of new models to address
the unique challenges and opportunities presented by carousel
interfaces.