DOK 324 Principles of Information Retrieval (Spring 2000) Yaşar Tonta

Web search engines (Yahoo!, AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, HotBot, etc.) may permit several different kinds of searches, from a general search for documents with words in a given list, to searches using a Boolean expression, to searches constrained within some hierarchy of documents. For each of the following queries, investigate the response of at least two different Web search engines, using both open and constraint types of searches. To properly compare the searches, note the following information:

• name of the search engine,
• the type of search done,
• any special features used,
• the number of documents identified,
• the number of document surrogates (i.e., abstracts or summaries) identified,
• the number of document surrogates you examined,
• the number of documents you examined,
• the number of relevant documents you found,
• the time required to complete the search,
• your impression of the search engine (user satisfaction).

Do you think that other (better) documents were not found? Should the search have been done without using the Web, and why? Attach the printed copies of the searches that you performed.

1. I am going to present a paper in a conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in April 2000. Find a list of hotels near the city center including addresses and phone/fax numbers.
2. What airlines are available for travel between Ankara and Lisbon? Find the schedules and prices.
3. I am looking for a book entitled "Darwin among the Machines" and I would like to buy it if I can find. Locate more specific information about this book (author, title, publisher, ISBN, price, etc.) and its availability including shipping costs.
4. I would like to buy a small used car, and want information on those containing dual air bags. I will accept only official information from the manufacturer, not magazine articles or secondhand reports.
5. Does NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have a unit dealing with research and technology? What is it? Find detailed information about it.
6. I am looking for a picture of the man who stood against the tanks in the Tienanmen Square during the recent revolt in China. Can you find one?
7. Suppose I am not satisfied with the answers you found through the Internet. Find information about the alternatives (card catalogs, online catalogs, printed reference sources, etc.) that are available, including cost and services offered.

Have a good hunting!