A faceted search system responds to a query by returning a set of documents intended to match the search terms, and also provides a set of facets that offer the user directions for query refinement. This faceted search approach, however, does not specify how those two sets (the results and the facets) should be presented to the user. An application may choose to present both sets in the same view or may initially present only one set, that is, the results or the facets.

Is there an optimal way to make these choices? The short answer is no: different applications and user needs motivate different design choices. What we can do, however, is enumerate a few options and discuss their relative merits.

Front End Concerns When Implementing Faceted Search – Part 1
Front End Concerns When Implementing Faceted Search – Part 2