A priori assumptions about specific behavior in test items can be used to process log data in a rule-based fashion to identify the behavior of interest. In this study, we demonstrate such a top-down approach and created a process indicator to represent what type of information processing (flimsy, breadth-first, satisficing, sampling, laborious) adults exhibit when searching online for information. We examined how often the predefined patterns occurred for a particular task, how consistently they occurred within individuals, and whether they explained task success beyond individual background variables (age, educational attainment, gender) and information processing skills (reading and evaluation skills).