Should the search-box that was used to search for a user hold it's search results upon return to address book after editing a user?

Question

When editing a user's info and clicking Save, the page navigates back to address book. Should the search-box that was used to search for that user in the first place "hold" its search results - displaying only the search results upon returning to the main user list - or should it show the full list of users again?

I am wondering about this because I am using table data throughout a software application that has this functionality happening to more than just editing user's info. (searching and editing a Customer's Account, Locations, etc.)

Answer 1

If the data is all client-side before the search takes place, perhaps using a filter field would be better, immediately filtering down the table data to show only rows that match what's been typed in the field. These are generally pretty nimble and quick to dismiss or re-filter:

As far as search goes, I believe the standard after acting on a search result, upon returning to the search interface, is to discard the results and allow a new search.

Answer 2

Logically it makes sense to return the all results as when a user has finished editing a user, the next logical step is to edit another user, and they have the liberty to search again if they want to, defaulting them to previous search will add an extra step to clear the search content to search another user

Answer 3

According to Apple's iOS UX design, it should. Considering Apple invest a lot of money in to their se search, I think we should ultimately consider relying on their design practices.