Advanced searching

1. Advanced searching a variety tricks of the trade tefkos@rutgers.edu; http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/ Tefko Saracevic

2. Central ideas Searching is still much more an art than a science Main object of searching is to be effective Effectiveness is primarily considered in terms of retrieval that is relevant But there is no such thing as a perfect search This leads to various tactics to achieve certain effectiveness goals & levels Tefko Saracevic

3. ToC Definitions, approaches Search tactics Advanced features 1: Using fields Advanced features 2: Using proximity Case study Tefko Saracevic

4. 1. Definitions, approaches Advanced searches as heuristics Tefko Saracevic

5. Definitions Advanced(Encarta) More highly developed … at a higher stage of development or progress than other similar people or things Advanced searching that about sums it up it is searching at a higher level of complexity without which search goals of increased effectiveness cannot be achieved Tefko Saracevic

6. Definitions … Heuristic(Encarta) problem solving by trial and error a method of solving a problem for which no formula exists, based on informal methods or experience, and employing a form of trial and error (iteration) using or arrived at by a process of trial and error rather than set rules a rule of thumb commonsense rules indented to increase the probability of solving some problem Tefko Saracevic

7. Advanced searching is a HEURISTIC process It means that searching is a trial & error process & an iterative process It means that searcher modify a search in response to results or to user rection It is a base for search progression toward more effective results And it is a behind advanced search strategy and tactics Tefko Saracevic

8. Goals of advanced searching Tefko Saracevic • achieve higher levels of effectiveness • getting more relevant, missing more irrelevant stuff • and at higher level of efficiency • saving on overall time, cost, effort • center search toward answers & resources most likely to be effective • also: focus unfocused searches & • get ideas how to proceed • use all available system features for goals • act as an professional (extreme) searcher

9. Reminder A search strategy is Search tactics are A query - command line entered into a system in order to retrieve relevant information & variations in terms, operators, fields, delimiters & attributes as allowed by a given system vocabulary & syntax used in conjunction with connectors &/or limiters to search a system • The entire approach to a search – selection of • files and sources to use • approaches in proceeding to search • formats for viewing results • alternative actions if search yields • too much • too little • problem-solving heuristics Tefko Saracevic

10. Advanced searchingpossible at several levels Strategic Tactical using system features to the hilt to achieve given objectives but as said, features may & do differ from system to system Reminder: Search tactics (action choices): choices & variations in search statements, query terms, connectors, attributes … using capabilities of a system to the hilt to achieve desired results • using different approaches to fit circumstances or context independent of but adapted to a system used Reminder: Search strategy (big picture): • overall approach to searching of a question • decisions on search resource(s), content & format • variations in these as a search progresses Tefko Saracevic

11. 2. Search tactics Various ways of approaching an advanced search Tefko Saracevic

12. Some major tactics Tefko Saracevic

13. Speed search • Takes little planning & is fast • searcher gets on to the system quickly, & enters terms using default (or simple Boolean) operators • only a few terms are used • there is no or little reiteration & limited interaction between searcher & system • Can also be used for verification purposes • Results can be examined for relevance feedback • Not recommended for comprehensive searches • Widely used & most prefered by users generally Tefko Saracevic

14. However …for a complex search Use it as a classic form of feedback • Speed search is not a be all and end all • But it could be a very effective beginning • to do initial exploring and getting ides about sources, contents, type of documents, magnitude … • to find some relevant documents and proceed from there • and then to proceed with refining searches using other tactics • You do a speed search, examine results, maybe do more & examine again and on that basis refine succeeding searches & tactics Tefko Saracevic

15. Building block search • Commonly used search tactic • start small & then build upon results • identification: each important concept a search is identified; also facets, such as fields to be searched are identified • elaboration: for each concept further terms are identified • combination: search starts with one or just a few concepts & associated; as it progresses additional concepts & facets are connected using appropriate Boolean operators &/or attributes • iteration: as a search proceeds terms to concepts may be added, new concepts, created & combined; fields added or dropped • You build heuristically & modify the query as you go along adding, changing concepts, their elaborations, and facets/fields Tefko Saracevic

16. Building block search - illustration From a question concepts A, B, C ... are identified – terms that could be further analyzed For each concept search terms are added – narrower, broader, related, synonyms, near synonyms - all these are connected with OR Concepts together with their terms are connected with AND Fields and limits may be added to any or all concepts or terms AND OR Tefko Saracevic

17. Dialog worksheet helps in planning Enter question Select databases Elaborate terms Reflect goals Specify commands Tefko Saracevic

18. Connecting tactics • Concepts in building block searches can also be identified not only from a question but from resulting documents from a speed search • thus concepts C, D … could be specified after a previous speed search , elaborated, & then added to a subsequent building block set of concepts • same with facets & fields Tefko Saracevic

19. Narrowing tactics • A search can start with using one of the concepts and its elaborations & then adding others • this way it proceeds from broad (one concept) to narrower by adding other concepts – and reviewing • facets and fields can be added still more narrowing • evaluated as one receives answers • limits/fields can be added at any search, narrowing it further • used to increase precision & focus • Same can be done in reverse from narrow to broad to by subtracting concepts from a comprehensive search • used to increase recall & focus Tefko Saracevic

20. Narrowing schematic 1st search 2nd search + 3rd search 4th, 5th … search + + + add to any + = AND Tefko Saracevic

21. Citation pearl growing search What? aims When to use it When word lists or thesauri are not available When there isn’t a large recall after doing some searching When a user has one or two good articles and wants to find more like them When a topic is hot with a breakthrough paper • It means what the name implies: you start with a nugget & grow upon it • Starts with a few records of high relevance • Looks at references or who cites it to find more • Aims for more recall • Avoids subject terms, indexing & language Tefko Saracevic

22. It depends on citations over time Backward chaining(back in time) Citation tracking (forward chaining in time) Who has cited a given document, author, journal, institution moving forward in time from the publication of the item Used also to indicate impact higher citation rate assumed higher impact Popular in sciences • Following up references in articles of interest • moving backward in successive leaps through reference lists • Could be linked to co-citation – authors cited together • Popular in social sciences, humanities Tefko Saracevic

23. Citation indexes • Tools giving citation links • particularly Web of Science, Scopus & Google Scholar • Invaluable for citation pearl growing • Citation indexes in various subjects (law, science …) provided that for a long time even before computers • But it exploded with automation • Now some search databases provide support for that search tactics • integrated with subject searching • e.g Scopus, even Google Scholar • easy to jump from subject searches to references to citation tracking to sources to authros Tefko Saracevic

24. 3. Advanced features 1 Using fields Tefko Saracevic

25. In fact • Any & all vendors & search engines have advanced search features – none are without them • In principle most are the same in that they cover similar fields in records • But in application they differ from vendor to vendor, engine to engine – sometimes greatly • need to be learned individually. What a bummer! • cannot be taken that what & how works in one works elsewhere – even though similarities are there • but once you know them well in a few you generalize & adapt to others Tefko Saracevic

26. Fields & advanced features • Common fields beyond subjects • author, source, year, institution, type of publication, country, etc • Some are used to search on another dimension • e.g. authors, sources • Others to limit subject & other searches • e.g. dates, language • Everybody has fields • & they are critical for advanced searching • it starts with fields • How displayed for searching differs greatly • now mostly in menus • added automatically • but also available as commands examples Tefko Saracevic

27. Advanced features for Library Literature & Information Science in Wilson Web fields Tefko Saracevic

28. Advanced features for Web of Science fields Tefko Saracevic

29. Advanced features for Scopus fields example Tefko Saracevic

30. Advanced features for Google Here is what Google says: Detailed description in: Google Guide , particularly in Query InputbyNancy Blachman “I developed Google Guide because I wanted more information about Google's capabilties, features, and services than I found on Google's website. Google Guide is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Google.” Tefko Saracevic

31. Advanced features for Google … fields Tefko Saracevic

32. Use of advanced features Use of advanced features is one of the hallmarks of professional competencies • Many studies show that users (when searching for themselves as end users) use them rarely, if at all, • they do not use Boolean capabilities, availability of searching by given fields, restricting of searching by available delimiters etc. • But professional searchers use them a lot Tefko Saracevic

33. 4. Advanced features 2 Using proximity of terms Tefko Saracevic

34. Proximity • Searching for • terms x words apart • one after the other or in any order • terms in same sentence, paragraph, field • Improves precision • zeros in on specific names, expressions • Important for searching • particularly for users in fields with set terminology • Connected with phrase searching • Simple idea but handled very differently in different databases • to find how handled must go to Help examples Tefko Saracevic

35. Phrase and string searching (similar to proximity) from Help Tefko Saracevic

36. Proximity & phrase operators (from Help) Tefko Saracevic

37. from Help Tefko Saracevic

38. Stop words • Words that databases and search engines choose to ignore • for searching – they will note their position but not include in the index • some of them also for indexing – they will not index them to start with • Different databases use very different lists of stop words • and handle them differently • Dialog has 9 stop words: • AN, AND, BY, FOR, FROM, OF, THE, TO, WITH • How about others? • lets see examples Tefko Saracevic

39. Stop wordsimportant to know what they do NOT search automatically[from their Help pages] Tefko Saracevic

40. Stop words – handled very differently WoK has some 200 stop words that are ignored while searching even for phrases Watch out! Tefko Saracevic

41. Stop words – again handled differently Tefko Saracevic

42. 5. A case study My own question & search – reality show Tefko Saracevic

43. Question & contextthis is a real question & reason I had Question Context I am interested in studies that have actual data. To be used for update of bibliography in this course and for discussion in a lecture book on relevance in information science that I am currently writing – support for broader conclusion • Search engines offer a number of features for searching. They also retrieve a large number of answers. How much are these advanced features used? How many pages do people look at? Tefko Saracevic

44. Databases used • I used first Library Literature and Information Science • available at RUL • did not get anywhere really so I lost patience & switched • Then I used Scopus • not available at RUL any more, but have class access • All results are from Scopus Tefko Saracevic

45. First I did a speed search that led me to making building blocks Tactics Results I enlarged the search concepts & terms from index terms found in a few examined documents that seemed relevant • Selected a basic concept from the question Tefko Saracevic

46. This resulted in • Quite a broad search and a lot of results, so I went to limit to certain fields and dates • Selected to add to search as limitation: Tefko Saracevic

47. One of the searches Choose fields Limit years Limit area Tefko Saracevic

48. Examined about six pages of results, here are three major selections These two did not have any results, but were useful for the class, so I included them in the bibliography This was toward the end but it turned to be a mother lode, not only for having statistical results but for citations Tefko Saracevic

49. Here is the mother lode abstract with a number of features for further searching for entry in bibliography looked at references looked at citations clicked on authors Tefko Saracevic

50. Leads to further things:references, index terms, cited by, related works cited by ideas for index terms related works Tefko Saracevic