Principles of Searching
Course outline
17:610:530 – e530
For more details consult syllabus & other documents in Course home
tefkos@rutgers.edu; http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/
Tefko Saracevic
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Course logo
signifies what course is all about
People
Information
Technology
Tefko Saracevic
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Central ideas
• How do I search effectively and efficiently a
variety of electronic information resources for
users?
• How do I evaluate what was searched and
provided?
• How do I provide searching assistance and
services to users and institutions?
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ToC
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Rationale – Why?
Basic definitions
Purpose, objectives
Course organization
Coursework
Parting wisdom
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1. Rationale & orientation
What is the course all about?
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Why?
• Number & variety of information resources is HUGE
– growing at a very high rate - called “information explosion”
• Digital age has radically changed how people engage
with & search for information
• Great many people search for information on their
own
– few do it well
– even fewer know how well they are doing
• Search engines are global but searching is individual
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Why? (cont.)
• As professionals, librarians were always concerned
with searching for information on behalf of users, i.e.
mediated searching
– with the advent of electronic information resources and
the web, searching has changed in many ways
• Trend is toward dismediation of searching
– where searching is increasingly shifting toward end users –
placing librarians in new roles
o traditionally we were concerned about content & searching of
resources
o now more with the process of access & variety of services
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Why? (end)
• Roles for professionals – YOU- has changed a lot
• Besides mediated searching now it also includes:
– knowledge navigation - supporting the user in locating and
retrieving relevant information in the global information environment
– cooperative searching - interacting with a user in search
processes usually through teamwork oriented software
– source recommendation – acting as recommenders
– source evaluation – assessing value, quality & suitability
– impact investigation – search for evaluative data of use in
assessing outputs & impacts of research, institutions, researchers …
– user assistance and training
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Orientation
• Course is oriented not only toward mediated
searching but also toward these other
additional & changing functions & processes
• This also includes research related to searching
& these newer functions
• To prepare you for life-long learning in this area
– one thing you ca be sure:
o things will keep changing & you will have to keep up
o you will also have to assume new roles & functions
© Tefko Saracevic
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2. Basic definitions
What do we mean by “Principles” & by
“Searching?”
These definitions are really basic, but they clarify
the course. Many definitions will be presented later
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prin′ci′ple [prinsəp′l] (noun)
(courtesy of Encarta Dictionary)
1. basic assumption
an important underlying law or assumption required in a
system of thought
2. ethical standard
a standard of moral or ethical decision-making
3. way of working
the basic way in which something works
4. source
the primary source of something
All these definitions fit this course, but which one fits best?
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sear′ching, search [surch]
(verb, noun, adjective)
1. penetrating or probing
observing acutely or examining thoroughly
2. examine thoroughly
to look into, over, or through something carefully in order
to find somebody or something
3. examine computer file
to examine a computer file, disk, database, or network
for particular information
4. discover something by examination
to discover, come to know, or find something by
examination
All fit, but no. 3 fits this course particularly well
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Thus…
• We are dealing with the basic way in which
searching works so that you can apply it to many
sources and situations
• We are also dealing with searching as a complex
pragmatic process requiring professional skills
• And we are NOT concentrating on mastering of
searching of any particular system or database
– the ones used in the course are used to learn principles
and develop skills
o what you learn here you will apply that later for
specific sources and situation
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3. Purpose & objectives
Syllabus has both instructional & learning
objectives – both are synthesized here
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Purpose
• … is to study effective searching of electronic
information resources on behalf of users seeking
information, involving both: general principles of
searching and practical search exercises
– Students will learn skills related to human-human and
human-computer interaction as well as the principles and
theories on which the skills are based
• The course provides a base for additional learning
necessary to cope with the ever-changing pragmatic
world of searching
– therefore, it includes both principles & theoretical bases &
practical skills
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Course objectives
Integrated understanding of:
• Information: subject, structure, & vocabularies of a variety of
information resources as they affect searching.
• Technology: Models of information retrieval (IR) systems,
search engines, & digital libraries, as relevant to searching.
•
Searching: Human-computer interaction. Principles for
effective searching & variations in search strategies and tactics.
Evaluation of retrieval results.
• People: Human-human interaction. User information
seeking & the process of mediation & interviewing involved in
user modeling. Alternatives in presentation of results to users.
Ethical norms applied to searching. Sources for life-long learning.
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Searching is …
People
Information
Technology
© Tefko Saracevic
… a complex process
involving interaction &
feedback between and
among
PEOPLE,
INFORMATION, &
TECHNOLOGY
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In order to be a professional searcher you need
an understanding & mastery of:
Information: What is the content of the sources? How is the
content organized? You and resources.
Technology: What kind of systems are used? Information
retrieval, web, digital libraries. You and systems.
Searching: How is human-computer interaction
conducted for high effectiveness? You and the computer.
People: How to be in effective in
human-human interaction. You and the user.
And professional conduct: ethics
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As to technology
Two components
1. Hardware & software:
a variety of inf. & communication technologies, including
networks
2. Systems:
that handle information objects (collect, organize, store,
provide access) – we will commonly call them
information retrieval (IR) systems
The two are different things but are closely connected.
Professional searchers need to know how to use both.
IN THIS COURSE WE DEAL ONLY WITH SYSTEMS!
Other courses deal with hardware & software
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What will the course NOT do?
• Create a professional searcher or “extreme
searcher” out of you
• Make you an expert on databases, systems,
information retrieval, search engines, the web
• Make you expertly proficient on any one
system, database, resource, search engine
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But you will be learning
• What is under the hood of a number of
systems & databases
– so that you can generalize to all the others
• How to conduct a search effectively using a
number of techniques
– so that you can generalize to advanced searching
• How to interact professionally with users
– so that you can generalize that to a number of
services
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What will the course DO?
• Provide you with a practical & theoretical
foundation and framework on basis of which
you can then:
– develop into a professional searcher or technical
assistant to users
– grow & evolve with the field
– adjust to inevitable changes in the world of
searching
– eventually, depending on your other courses &
life-long learning, become an expert
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4. Course organization
Themes, units
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Distribution of units
•
•
Semester lasts 15 weeks
Course has 14 units – one for each week of the
•
semester, plus a unit at the end for evaluation
Units are grouped into themes – there are 4 themes
following objectives:
A. Information (units 1, 2 & 3)
B. Technology (units 4 &5)
C. Searching (units 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10)
D. People (units 11, 12, 13, & 14)
At the end (unit 15)
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Units
Each unit has an outline as to:
• Title of the unit
• Why? the rationale for presenting this unit
and questions you should ask
• What? a list of topics covered in the unit
• How? presentation and tasks for the unit
– elaborated in section 6
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Topics covered by units
Theme A. INFORMATION
Unit 1. Overview of searching and a bit of history
Unit 2. Types and structures of information resources
Unit 3. Types and structures of vocabularies
B. TECHNOLOGY
Unit 4. Information retrieval; Interaction in information retrieval
Unit 5. Search engines. Digital libraries
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Topics covered (cont.)
C. SEARCHING — human-computer interaction
Unit 6. Search techniques and effectiveness
Unit 7. Advanced searching
Unit 8. Web search and the invisible web
Unit 9. Bibliometric and scientometric searching
Unit 10. Evaluation of search sources and results
D. PEOPLE — human-human interaction
Unit 11 Mediation between search intermediaries & users. User modeling
Unit 12. Presentation to users
Unit 13. Search services and roles of intermediaries – traditional and evolving
Unit 14. Ethics. Student presentations
AT THE END
Unit 15. Future. Course evaluation
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5. Coursework
How? Ways and means we are going about
doing the course
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Mix
• The course is a mix of two tracks:
1. principles & theory &
2. practical skills
• Why principles & theory?
– base for further understanding & professional
development
o knowing principles & theory separates learning from training & a
professional from a technician or paraprofessional
o nothing more practical than a good theory & good set of principles
– principles & theory endure through changes in systems,
technology & software
o principles & theory make learning new systems easier
o help with understanding
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Structure of coursework
•
Each unit has:
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
a lecture on the unit topic
dealing with principles
assignment as to readings
exercise for searching – dealing with skills
discussion
There is also a term project
– a semester long task focusing on providing a
search service to a user selected by student
o
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and a journal primarily devoted to the term project
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Schedule
• Units are run on a weekly basis Monday
through Sunday
– assignments and exercises for each unit are due
on the following Monday (0 to 24 hours on Mon)
• The semester long term project has three
deliverables - due per schedule
– a selection report, progress report & final report
• Schedule is provided on course site
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Lectures
• Each unit has a lecture on the topic
– lectures are in PowerPoint & Camtasia (narrated version
of the PowerPoint lecture)
o Suggestion: PowerPoint best viewed if downloaded & then
run on own computer (go to Downloads)
o most lectures contain some links to other sites, providing
further explanation, examples, or resources
o unfortunately, links do not work in Camtasia
– some lectures slides have notes with further
explanatory text
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Assignments
• Assignments refer to READINGS ONLY
– associated with unit topic and lecture
– some readings are required – these have to be briefly
summarized and questions answered & turned in
– other readings are for read-only and discussion or reference
• Full citation to readings is in the bibliography
• All readings, but the required book, are digital
– found either at RUL, on class web site, or on the web
– sometimes you will have to search
o (after all this is a searching class!)
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Exercises
• Objective: to obtain practical training in a variety of
systems
– the objective is NOT to teach you a given system, but to
provide searching experiences that can be generalized & later
sharpened, improved
• On a weekly basis as assigned
– using Dialog, Scopus, Web of Science, LexisNexis, web, search
engines, digital libraries …
– or search for answers for given questions
– or use a variety of tactics & features
• In exercises you can work cooperatively in groups
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Connection
• At times exercises are seemingly independent of
lecture topic or readings
– but they have their own logic in progression
• Think about the course as running on two parallel
(but not independent) tracks:
– lectures & readings are general, devoted to principles,
introducing concepts, experiments, theories on the topic
– exercises are pragmatic introducing practice and “what is
under the hood” examples
• They can be connected in discussion & the journal
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Examples of first few exercises
• Involves Dialog*
• Take Dialog tutorials
• LEARN & PRACTICE:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
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Contents of databases
Structure of databases & records - BLUE SHEETS
Basic search commands
Basic output commands
Logical operators, execution
Truncation
Searching in fields
DIALINDEX; OneSearch
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Why start with Dialog?
Why include it at all?
• It is somewhat of a dinosaurs but it is also the largest
set of legacy databases on the planet (over 15 Terabytes)
(the whole print collection of the Library of Congress has some 10
Terabytes)
– it is also is the best way to learn what is under the hood –
how are databases and vocabularies structured & how to
do search strategies
• Also has a great set of learning tools plus a free
password
• What you learn in Dialog translates to every indexing
& abstracting database & even search engines
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Discussion
• Weekly there will be questions to discuss
– a threaded discussion; you are asked to respond
– or raise you own questions
– & respond to remarks by your colleagues
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Term project purpose
• A reality exercise designed to give you in
depth experience that you will encounter in
your professional life
– involves every aspect of searching from start to
end
• Experiences to be shared among classmates,
so that you can learn from each other
• It will take time and effort, thus do NOT
procrastinate – it is semester long!
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Term project
• Select a specific user with an information need to do an
online search - no family or significant others
• Interview the user - if necessary several times with feedback
• Construct a user model – user question requirements & characteristics
• Select resources for searching
• Construct search strategies & conduct searching
– reiterate as you get feedback from user
• Organize results for presentation
• Present results to user; evaluate
• Write a technical report
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Term project deliverables
There are two:
1. A search results report to the user
•
suggest you follow presentation guidelines as
suggested in Term project: final report; starts with an
executive summary
•
does NOT have to be presented to the instructor or
class – it is between you and your user!
•
only include the executive summary in technical report
2. A technical report to the instructor
•
Tefko Saracevic
discussed next and in the syllabus at length
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Technical report
(details in the syllabus & instructions)
• Selection of user: who?
• User question & model
o what task? how much knows? what topics? priorities?
•
•
•
•
•
Mode & results of interviews
Summary of search tactics & approaches, dynamics
Changes in user model, user definition of problem
Changes in searching & you
Evaluation of your effort & learning
o what does or does not work?
o what effects of your decisions? And user feedback?
o what would you do differently? (this section VERY important!)
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Journal
• You are asked to keep your own informal journal in
eCollege
– equivalent to a lab or project personal notebook or diary
o Required: for you to record the progress in your term project as it
unfolds
o Optional: for you to record major aspects of what you learned
(from readings, exercises, discussions, project, experience …) with
any associated reactions, comments, reflections and the like.
• But there is nothing to turn in
• You can use journal entries about the term project in
your technical report
– also keep at after the class is over as a notebook
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Groups
• I will try to organize you into groups of 3-4 students
– or you can do self organization into a group according to
shared interests
• Groups are intended for more intensive discussion
among members , exchange of experiences & self-help
• The role is for each group to
–
–
–
–
–
discuss readings and assignments
perform tasks together e.g. exercises
term project can be done as a group project (2 or more)
share journal entries
together report to the class as a whole.
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Method of assessment
• SCILS has the following letter grades – we will use
them:
A, B+, B, C+, C, and F
• The final grade will be derived as follows:
Summaries, exercises, discussion, journal
60%
Term project
40%
• Criteria for grading listed in the syllabus
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6. Parting remarks
About the course …
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About the course
•
•
•
•
•
It is demanding - but so is searching as professional work
It is challenging - but so is searching
There is a lot of thinking
There is a lot of work
But there is a lot
– that can be learned
– that can be used in practice
o and in other courses
– that will stay with you throughout your career
– upon which you can build
• And the course is rewarding
– and so is searching professionally
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Grades
• Do not worry about grades
• The course is not about grades – it is about learning,
gaining knowledge & competencies
– grades are just an indicator for you to gauge your progress
• Nobody will ever ask you what grade you got
– but will expect of you to master something & ask you about what
you know & have learned
– thus RELAX! And concentrate on exploring & learning
– and even having fun!
– as of matter of fact let us all have fun, you learning & me teaching
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Future?
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another perspective …
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still another perspective
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