scholarly journals Mon ami Google : une étude des pratiques des futurs enseignants du Québec en recherche d’information | My friend Google: A study on the information seeking process of Quebec’s pre-service teachers

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Dumouchel ◽  
Thierry Karsenti
Keyword(s):  
Search Engines ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Search Strategies ◽  
Web Searching ◽  
Formation Initiale ◽  
Proper Training ◽  
Mode D’Action ◽  
Futurs Enseignants ◽  
The Web

While Quebec’s students mainly use Web search engines like Google to find information for their studies, teachers are tasked with giving them the proper training to do it efficiently. But are future teachers well prepared to accomplish their mission? This study analyzes the information seeking process used by Quebec’s pre-service teachers to find information on the Web. Results show that a majority of them are novice information searchers; they rarely plan ahead for their Web searching, they use basic search strategies, and scarcely diversify their searching tools. Results are discussed and recommendations are suggested to improve the information seeking process taught to pre-service teachers.Alors que les élèves du Québec cherchent prioritairement de l’information sur des moteurs de recherche comme Google, il revient aux enseignants de les former à le faire efficacement. Mais la relève est-elle bien préparée pour accomplir cette mission? Cette étude vise à décrire et analyser les pratiques déclarées et effectives de futurs enseignants québécois en recherche d’information sur le Web. Les résultats démontrent qu’ils emploient principalement un mode d’action novice : peu ou pas de planification, stratégies de recherche basiques et faible diversification des outils. Une discussion critique des résultats et des recommandations en formation initiale viennent clore cet article.

A Study on Web Searching

2004 ◽  
pp. 208-225
Author(s):  
Shanfeng Zhu ◽  
Xiaotie Deng ◽  
Qizhi Fang ◽  
Weimin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Search Engine ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Web Searching ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Total Index ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Web Search Engines ◽  
The Web

Web search engines are one of the most popular services to help users find useful information on the Web. Although many studies have been carried out to estimate the size and overlap of the general web search engines, it may not benefit the ordinary web searching users, since they care more about the overlap of the top N (N=10, 20 or 50) search results on concrete queries, but not the overlap of the total index database. In this study, we present experimental results on the comparison of the overlap of the top N (N=10, 20 or 50) search results from AlltheWeb, Google, AltaVista and WiseNut for the 58 most popular queries, as well as for the distance of the overlapped results. These 58 queries are chosen from WordTracker service, which records the most popular queries submitted to some famous metasearch engines, such as MetaCrawler and Dogpile. We divide these 58 queries into three categories for further investigation. Through in-depth study, we observe a number of interesting results: the overlap of the top N results retrieved by different search engines is very small; the search results of the queries in different categories behave in dramatically different ways; Google, on average, has the highest overlap among these four search engines; each search engine tends to adopt a different rank algorithm independently.

scholarly journals Uncovering Web search strategies in South African higher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Surika Civilcharran ◽  
Manoj S. Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Search Strategies ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Online Library ◽  
The Web

Background: In spite of the enormous amount of information available on the Web and the fact that search engines are continuously evolving to enhance the search experience, students are nevertheless faced with the difficulty of effectively retrieving information. It is, therefore, imperative for the interaction between students and search tools to be understood and search strategies to be identified, in order to promote successful information retrieval.Objectives: This study identifies the Web search strategies used by postgraduate students and forms part of a wider study into information retrieval strategies used by postgraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Pietermaritzburg campus, South Africa. Method: Largely underpinned by Thatcher’s cognitive search strategies, the mixed-methods approach was utilised for this study, in which questionnaires were employed in Phase 1 and structured interviews in Phase 2. This article reports and reflects on the findings of Phase 2, which focus on identifying the Web search strategies employed by postgraduate students. The Phase 1 results were reported in Civilcharran, Hughes and Maharaj (2015).Results: Findings reveal the Web search strategies used for academic information retrieval. In spite of easy access to the invisible Web and the advent of meta-search engines, the use of Web search engines still remains the preferred search tool. The UKZN online library databases and especially the UKZN online library, Online Public Access Catalogue system, are being underutilised.Conclusion: Being ranked in the top three percent of the world’s universities, UKZN is investing in search tools that are not being used to their full potential. This evidence suggests an urgent need for students to be trained in Web searching and to have a greater exposure to a variety of search tools. This article is intended to further contribute to the design of undergraduate training programmes in order to deal with the information retrieval frustrations of novice users.

A Study on Web Searching

2008 ◽  
pp. 1926-1937
Author(s):  
Shanfeng Chu ◽  
Xiaotie Deng ◽  
Qizhi Fang ◽  
Weimin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Search Engine ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Web Searching ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Total Index ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Web Search Engines ◽  
The Web

Web search engines are one of the most popular services to help users find useful information on the Web. Although many studies have been carried out to estimate the size and overlap of the general web search engines, it may not benefit the ordinary web searching users, since they care more about the overlap of the top N (N=10, 20 or 50) search results on concrete queries, but not the overlap of the total index database. In this study, we present experimental results on the comparison of the overlap of the top N (N=10, 20 or 50) search results from AlltheWeb, Google, AltaVista and WiseNut for the 58 most popular queries, as well as for the distance of the overlapped results. These 58 queries are chosen from WordTracker service, which records the most popular queries submitted to some famous metasearch engines, such as MetaCrawler and Dogpile. We divide these 58 queries into three categories for further investigation. Through in-depth study, we observe a number of interesting results: the overlap of the top N results retrieved by different search engines is very small; the search results of the queries in different categories behave in dramatically different ways; Google, on average, has the highest overlap among these four search engines; each search engine tends to adopt a different rank algorithm independently.

Classification of means and methods of the Web semantic retrieval

2017 ◽  
pp. 030-050
Author(s):  
J.V. Rogushina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Search Engines ◽  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Web Search ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
Query Languages ◽  
Semantic Search ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
The Web

Problems associated with the improve ment of information retrieval for open environment are considered and the need for it’s semantization is grounded. Thecurrent state and prospects of development of semantic search engines that are focused on the Web information resources processing are analysed, the criteria for the classification of such systems are reviewed. In this analysis the significant attention is paid to the semantic search use of ontologies that contain knowledge about the subject area and the search users. The sources of ontological knowledge and methods of their processing for the improvement of the search procedures are considered. Examples of semantic search systems that use structured query languages (eg, SPARQL), lists of keywords and queries in natural language are proposed. Such criteria for the classification of semantic search engines like architecture, coupling, transparency, user context, modification requests, ontology structure, etc. are considered. Different ways of support of semantic and otology based modification of user queries that improve the completeness and accuracy of the search are analyzed. On base of analysis of the properties of existing semantic search engines in terms of these criteria, the areas for further improvement of these systems are selected: the development of metasearch systems, semantic modification of user requests, the determination of an user-acceptable transparency level of the search procedures, flexibility of domain knowledge management tools, increasing productivity and scalability. In addition, the development of means of semantic Web search needs in use of some external knowledge base which contains knowledge about the domain of user information needs, and in providing the users with the ability to independent selection of knowledge that is used in the search process. There is necessary to take into account the history of user interaction with the retrieval system and the search context for personalization of the query results and their ordering in accordance with the user information needs. All these aspects were taken into account in the design and implementation of semantic search engine "MAIPS" that is based on an ontological model of users and resources cooperation into the Web.

Search Engine Update

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Search Engine ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Search Strategy ◽  
Search Strategies ◽  
Boolean Logic ◽  
Web Searches ◽  
Search Techniques ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
The Web

Looking back to 1999, there were a number of search engines which performed equally well. I recommended defining the search strategy very carefully, using Boolean logic and field search techniques, and always running the search in more than one search engine. Numerous articles and Web columns comparing the performance of different search engines came to different conclusions on the ‘best’ search engines. Over the last year, however, all the speakers at conferences and seminars I have attended have recommended Google as their preferred tool for locating all kinds of information on the Web. I confess that I have now abandoned most of my carefully worked out search strategies and comparison tests, and use Google for most of my own Web searches.

Studying Web Search Engines from a User Perspective

2012 ◽  
pp. 411-437
Author(s):  
Stéphane Chaudiron ◽  
Madjid Ihadjadene
Keyword(s):  
Search Engines ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Information Access ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
User Perspective ◽  
Web Search Engines ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Concept Of Information ◽  
And Behavior

This chapter shows that the wider use of Web search engines, reconsidering the theoretical and methodological frameworks to grasp new information practices. Beginning with an overview of the recent challenges implied by the dynamic nature of the Web, this chapter then traces the information behavior related concepts in order to present the different approaches from the user perspective. The authors pay special attention to the concept of “information practice” and other related concepts such as “use”, “activity”, and “behavior” largely used in the literature but not always strictly defined. The authors provide an overview of user-oriented studies that are meaningful to understand the different contexts of use of electronic information access systems, focusing on five approaches: the system-oriented approaches, the theories of information seeking, the cognitive and psychological approaches, the management science approaches, and the marketing approaches. Future directions of work are then shaped, including social searching and the ethical, cultural, and political dimensions of Web search engines. The authors conclude considering the importance of Critical theory to better understand the role of Web Search engines in our modern society.

A Roadmap to Integrate Document Clustering in Information Retrieval

2013 ◽  
pp. 31-45
Author(s):  
R. Subhashini ◽  
V.Jawahar Senthil Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Clustering Algorithm ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Search Results ◽  
The World ◽  
The Web

The World Wide Web is a large distributed digital information space. The ability to search and retrieve information from the Web efficiently and effectively is an enabling technology for realizing its full potential. Information Retrieval (IR) plays an important role in search engines. Today’s most advanced engines use the keyword-based (“bag of words”) paradigm, which has inherent disadvantages. Organizing web search results into clusters facilitates the user’s quick browsing of search results. Traditional clustering techniques are inadequate because they do not generate clusters with highly readable names. This paper proposes an approach for web search results in clustering based on a phrase based clustering algorithm. It is an alternative to a single ordered result of search engines. This approach presents a list of clusters to the user. Experimental results verify the method’s feasibility and effectiveness.

How People Search for Governmental Information on the Web

2011 ◽  
pp. 933-939
Author(s):  
B. J. Jansen ◽  
A. Spink
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Web Search Engines ◽  
People Search ◽  
E Mail ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Web

People are now confronted with the task of locating electronic information needed to address the issues of their daily lives. The Web is presently the major information source for many people in the U.S. (Cole, Suman, Schramm, Lunn, & Aquino, 2003), used more than newspapers, magazines, and television as a source of information. Americans are expanding their use of the Web for all sorts of information and commercial purposes (Horrigan, 2004; Horrigan & Rainie, 2002; National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 2002). Searching for information is one of the most popular Web activities, second only to the use of e-mail (Nielsen Media, 1997). However, successfully locating needed information remains a difficult and challenging task (Eastman & Jansen, 2003). Locating relevant information not only affects individuals but also commercial, educational, and governmental organizations. This is especially true in regards to people interacting with their governmental agencies. Executive Order 13011 (Clinton, 1996) directed the U.S. federal government to move aggressively with strategies to utilize the Internet. Birdsell and Muzzio (1999) present the growing presence of governmental Web sites, classifying them into three general categories, (1) provision of information, (2) delivery of forms, and (3) transactions. In 2004, 29% of American said they visited a government Web site to contact some governmental entity, 18% sent an e-mail and 22% use multiple means (Horrigan, 2004). It seems clear that the Web is a major conduit for accessing governmental information and maybe services. Search engines are the primary means for people to locate Web sites (Nielsen Media, 1997). Given the Web’s importance, we need to understand how Web search engines perform (Lawrence & Giles, 1998) and how people use and interact with Web search engines to locate governmental information. Examining Web searching for governmental information is an important area of research with the potential to increase our understanding of users of Web-based governmental information, advance our knowledge of Web searchers’ governmental information needs, and positively impact the design of Web search engines and sites that specialize in governmental information.

Deep Web

2009 ◽  
pp. 581-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Shestakov
Keyword(s):  
Search Engines ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Web Database ◽  
Web Search Engine ◽  
Search Form ◽  
Complete Set ◽  
Web Crawlers ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
The Web

Finding information on the Web using a web search engine is one of the primary activities of today’s web users. For a majority of users results returned by conventional search engines are an essentially complete set of links to all pages on the Web relevant to their queries. However, currentday searchers do not crawl and index a significant portion of the Web and, hence, web users relying on search engines only are unable to discover and access a large amount of information from the nonindexable part of the Web. Specifically, dynamic pages generated based on parameters provided by a user via web search forms are not indexed by search engines and cannot be found in searchers’ results. Such search interfaces provide web users with an online access to myriads of databases on the Web. In order to obtain some information from a web database of interest, a user issues his/her query by specifying query terms in a search form and receives the query results, a set of dynamic pages which embed required information from a database. At the same time, issuing a query via an arbitrary search interface is an extremely complex task for any kind of automatic agents including web crawlers, which, at least up to the present day, do not even attempt to pass through web forms on a large scale.

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