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The Search for Quality: productive Web searching

The Search for Quality: productive Web searching. John Cox James Hardiman Library NUI, Galway. The Problem. 7.3 million new Web pages daily Quality varies, mainly due to ease of publication and lack of checks Quality is in the eye of the beholder Over-dependence on general search engines

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The Search for Quality: productive Web searching

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  1. The Search for Quality: productive Web searching John Cox James Hardiman Library NUI, Galway

  2. The Problem • 7.3 million new Web pages daily • Quality varies, mainly due to ease of publication and lack of checks • Quality is in the eye of the beholder • Over-dependence on general search engines • Simplistic use of search tools

  3. Some Usage Findings • NUI, Galway Library survey, March 2000: • Search engines cited by 79 out of 167 respondents • Exclusively used for, eg Nazism, defamation law, hepatitis C • Less than 50% satisfied • Other surveys show very simplistic use: • 33% users enter one word only • Further 33% users enter two words only • UK survey indicates 80% searchers waste some time • US survey shows “search rage” within 12 minutes

  4. Key Question • “How much better than users are information staff at finding high-quality information on the Web and what leadership do we provide?” • 5 key actions needed

  5. 5 Key Actions • Get the best from the search engines • Go vertical: subject-specific sources • Take time to experiment, eg helper software • Exploit the invisible Web • Actively promote quality searching

  6. 1: Get the Best from the Search Engines • Understand how they work • Know their limitations • Use advanced features • Search more than one • Know when not to use them

  7. Search Engine Components • Crawler: follows links • Indexer: builds database • Query processor: lets us search

  8. Common Limitations • Profit-oriented • Paid entries listed at top • Out of date • Partial site indexing • Technically must exclude many sites, eg • Password-protected • Registration needed • Database-driven • Hidden search facilities

  9. Strengths Coverage Cached pages File types, eg PDF,.doc,.ppt Relevance: link popularity Beyond pages: images, newsgroups Weaknesses Poor Boolean support No truncation Limited date searching Invisible search facilities Two pages per site displayed by default Understanding Google

  10. Google: coverage

  11. Google: search modes Basic Advanced

  12. Google: file types

  13. Google: newsgroup search

  14. Google: cached pages 1

  15. Google: cached pages 2

  16. Google: Boolean limitations 1 Correct syntax: medline OR embase

  17. Google: Boolean limitations 2 Correct syntax: medline –embase (oruse Advanced Search)

  18. Google: no truncation Use clinton (tax OR taxes OR taxation)

  19. Google: few date limits

  20. Google: hidden features 1 Discovered at www.searchengineshowdown.com (buried in Google help)

  21. Google: hidden features 2 Partial URL v Specific Site Search: Not possible on Advanced Search despite “Domains” limit

  22. Other Search Engines • Always worth searching more than one, eg • All the Web (FAST) • AltaVista • Lycos/HotBot • Northern Light (?) • Overlap may be limited • Different ranking criteria

  23. 2. Go Vertical: specific tools

  24. Horses for Courses 1

  25. Horses for Courses 2

  26. Horses for Courses 3

  27. 3. Experimentation • Try out “add-on” search software, eg • BullsEye Pro • Copernic • Copernic Summariser

  28. BullsEye Pro: searching

  29. BullsEye Pro: Webliographies

  30. Copernic

  31. Copernic Summariser

  32. 4: Explore the “Invisible Web” • Material, often of high quality, that general search engines can’t or won’t index • Unlinked pages • Non-HTML file types, eg audio, video, PDF • Authenticated sites • Databases • Much greater in size than visible Web

  33. invisibleweb.com

  34. invisible-web.net

  35. WebData

  36. Librarians’ Index to the Internet

  37. 5. Promote Quality Searching • Old sources • Old habits • New media

  38. Old Sources

  39. Old Habits Concept analysis Search strategy formulation Critical source selection Patience Flexibility Critical appraisal of search hits

  40. New Media Library Web Site E-newsletter http://www.hw.ac.uk/libWWW/irn/irn.html Weblog

  41. Towards a Brighter Future • Automatically-generated, accurate metadata • Smarter search engines • More quality-sensitive • More penetrative • XML: structured data

  42. References • Sherman, Chris and Price, Gary The invisible Web: uncovering information sources search engines can't see. Medford, N.J.: Information Today, 2001. ISBN 091096551X. (accompanying database at http://invisible-web.net) • Search Engine Watch: http://www.searchenginewatch.com • Search Engine Showdown: www.searchengineshowdown.com

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