© tefko saracevic1 all you wanted to know … advanced searching

© Tefko Saracevic 1

All you wanted to know …

Advanced searching


Principles of Searching

Definitions

Advanced (Encarta)

More highly developed …at a higher stage of development or

progress than other similar people or things

Advanced searchingthat about sums it up

it is searching at a higher level of complexity without which search goals cannot be achieved



Definition

Heuristic (Encarta)

problem solving by trial and errora 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 thumbcommonsense rules indented to increase the probability of

solving some problem



Advanced searching is a HEURISTIC process

• It means that searching is a trial & error process & an iterative process

• It means that searcher can modify a search in response to results or user

• It is a base for search progression toward more effective results

• And it is a behind advanced search strategy and tactics



Goals of advanced searching

– 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



In fact

• Any & all vendors & search engines have advanced search features– most studies show that users use them rarely, if at all

• In principle most are the same • 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



Levels of advanced searching

• Advanced searching possible at several levels– strategic

• using different approaches to fit circumstances or context independent of but adapted to a system used

– tactical• using system features to the hilt to achieve given objectives• but as said, features may & do differ from system to system



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

• Search tactics (action choices) (small picture):– choices & variations in search statements, query

• terms, connectors, attributes …• using capabilities of a system to the hilt to achieve

desired results



• The entire approach to a search – selection of– files and sources to use– approaches in proceeding to search & combining

• search terms• operators to use• fields to search

– formats for viewing results– alternative actions if search yields

• too much• too little

– problem-solving heuristics

A search strategy is



• A query - command line entered into a system in order to retrieve relevant information– terms, operators & attributes as allowed by a given

system– vocabulary & syntax used in conjunction with

connectors &/or limiters to search a system

• Again: depends on a system how it is done– for example, a search statement in DIALOG might

be: b 47; ss (garbanzo? or chickpeas) and (hum?us or humus)

– how would you do that in ?

Search tactics is



Some major strategies

• Briefsearch – also sometimes called

meatball search or quick & dirty search

• Building block search • Citation pearl growing

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 by users generally

Briefsearch



• Commonly used search strategy– start small & then build upon results

• identification: each important concept or facet of a search is identified

• elaboration: for each facet terms are identified • combination: search starts with one or just a few facets;

as it progresses additional facets are connected using appropriate Boolean operators &/or attributes

• iteration: as a search proceeds terms to facets may be added, new facets, even subfacets, created & combined

• You build heuristically & modify the query as you go long adding, changing facets

Building block strategy



Going about building blocks

Facet 1REGULATION

FCC

regulation

market structures

regulated industries

Facet 2TECHNOLOGY

technology

technical impact innovation technological change

Facet 3TELECOMMU-NICATION

communicationsatellitemicrowave

telephone

cellular phonemobile radio

AND

OR



Getting higher recall

Building block (or multiple facet) searching assume movement from lower to higher recall – getting more stuff that is relevant, but precision may be lowered



• Another common strategy• It means what the name

implies: you start with a nugget & grow upon it

• Starts with a few records of high relevance

• Aims for more recall

Citation pearl growing



How to…citation pearl growing

• Bibliographic & other information is obtained for a relevant (model) document(s) after a Briefsearch– user is often the source of the model document(s)

• Terms (pearls) are selected from the documents to build facets

• Search proceeds iteratively with examination of new relevant documents to enlarge or modify facets– use synonyms and Boolean ‘or’ to create more facets– preserve sets for additional interaction

• This strategy works best if user is present or frequently consulted about results



When is citation pearl growing good to use?

• When word lists or thesauri are not available• When there isn’t a large recall after doing a briefsearch• When a client has one or two good articles and wants to

find more like them• When a topic is new and no descriptors are established

to represent the concept



Advanced searching on the web

• Needs to be adapted to differences – coverage not specified; vastly different from one

source, engine to another– no controlled vocabulary– output ranked by unknown methods & criteria for

“relevance”– building blocks may be indicated by “similar pages” or

“more from this site” or some such– some provide clusters to narrow searches– features, capabilities, specifics differ



A few web search guides of many

• Advanced web searching Greg Notes

• Finding information on the web U of California, Berkeley

• Googleguide advanced operators Nancy Blachman

• Four NETS for better searching Bernie Dodge

• Web search tutorial Searchenginez

• How to choose a search engine or directory SUNY at Albany

• Search the web more efficiently Web Design in New York

• Finding information: search engines Phil Bradley



Beware: search engines are not only about search

• Yes, search is (still) their core, but they are in many other businesses built upon search & these affect what & how of searching for us– they are corporations, commercial entities

• have to make money, mostly by ads & placements

– but provide many other services• selling, licensing software• email, messenger • add-on utilities – like your desktop search functions, toolbars

– many of the additional stuff is provided free, but there is no such thing as free lunch

• basically they are about how search engines can get us to continue to use their product



In other words

• Buyers beware!

• Searchers be aware!



A few search sources for the fun of it

• Shakespeare & Internet Search Tools & Resources

• Picsearch picture searching

• US government official web portal “Whatever you want or need from the U.S. government”

• Special Search Engines Leiden U, Netherlands, probably the longest page on the web – a bit out of date

• Yahooligans! the web guide for kids

and a study: Bilal, D. (2000). Children's use of the Yahooligans! Web search engine. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 51 (7), 646-665 [available at RUL]



Role & importance of interaction in searching

“At a fundamental level, information retrieval is inherently interactive.”

“This becomes apparent as one considers that the process revolves around a series of activities that an information searcher engages in with an information environment.”

Savage-Knepshield, P. A. & Belkin, N. J. (1999).



Interaction: key to effective searching

• Interaction between – user and searcher – searcher & information system– user & searcher with information objects– searcher with support materials (thesauri, codes, etc.)– user & searcher with environment– user & searcher with valuation of results

• All play a part in retrieving satisfying results• Iteration is a result of interaction



Interactive process

User task question useContext

User task question useContext

Query

Search

Sources

IterationEvaluation

Searcher



Ask yourself some questions

• What strategies & tactics have I developed for effective searching?

• What heuristics?



For a questionask yourself more questions

• What do I do first?• What files/systems should I use?• Should I start broad or narrow?• What will my search statement be?• How much material do I or user need?• What format do I or user want for results?• How will I modify & adjust results?



Happy advanced

© tefko saracevic1 all you wanted to know … advanced searching

Documents

advanced searching slide

advanced search strategy

search resources

goals of advanced searching

search yields

search statements

search progression

things advanced searching