Search Pages and Results LIS 385E: Information Architecture and Design By: Alex Chung

What do We Search? Entertainment: mp3, music, movies … Entertainment: mp3, music, movies … Education: journals, books … Education: journals, books … Work: Programming functions, software tutorials … Work: Programming functions, software tutorials … Purchase: best deals, users rating and recommendation … Purchase: best deals, users rating and recommendation … Living related information: recipe, driving directions, maps, news … Living related information: recipe, driving directions, maps, news …

Why do We Search To get results To get results To save time To save time To find related and similar topics To find related and similar topics To provide further browsing and searching activities To provide further browsing and searching activities “ Fill our information need ”

Why does our website need search? Search helps when there is too much information to browse Search helps when there is too much information to browse Search helps fragmented sites Search helps fragmented sites Search should be there because users expect it to be there Search should be there because users expect it to be there

Design pattern Have search features that are useful and usable. Have search features that are useful and usable. Pay attention to which words users type in. Pay attention to which words users type in. How to present the results How to present the results How customers interact with the result How customers interact with the result What happens if users cannot find what they want What happens if users cannot find what they want

Major Search Engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, Lycos, Ask Jeeves, AOL Search, AltaVista, HotBot, Netscape Search, WiseNut, Inktomi, Teoma, LookSmart, AllTheWeb.com, Open Directory, Overture … Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, Lycos, Ask Jeeves, AOL Search, AltaVista, HotBot, Netscape Search, WiseNut, Inktomi, Teoma, LookSmart, AllTheWeb.com, Open Directory, Overture … **Simple search forms**

Basic layout of search engines

Basic Search Options Search in Plain English Search in Plain English For new Web searchers For new Web searchers AltaVista, Google, Hotbot, Lycos, Northern Light, but not Yahoo! AltaVista, Google, Hotbot, Lycos, Northern Light, but not Yahoo! Rephrasing Rephrasing Searching for Multiple Words and Phrases Searching for Multiple Words and Phrases AND AND OR OR NOT NOT

AND Search AND Search Used by most people Used by most people Default search option on Google, HotBot Default search option on Google, HotBot Others Others Search for Monet AND Pissarro Search for Monet AND Pissarro Search for +Monet +Pissarro Search for +Monet +Pissarro OR Search OR Search Result in very large number of hits Result in very large number of hits Default search tool on AltaVista Default search tool on AltaVista Search for automobile car Search for automobile car Search for automobile OR car Search for automobile OR car

NOT NOT Search for coffee “ Java ”, not programming language “ Java ” ? Search for coffee “ Java ”, not programming language “ Java ” ? Search for: Java – programming Search for: Java – programming Search for: Java NOT programming Search for: Java NOT programming Search for: Java AND NOT programming Search for: Java AND NOT programming Be ware of throwing away some good stuff. Be ware of throwing away some good stuff. Really know what you are looking for. Really know what you are looking for.

Search Results Recall: the ratio of the number of retrieved relevant documents to the number of total documents in collection. Recall: the ratio of the number of retrieved relevant documents to the number of total documents in collection. # of relevant documents retrieved # of relevant documents retrieved = = # of total documents in collection # of total documents in collection Precision: the ratio of the number of retrieved relevant documents to the number of retrieved documents. Precision: the ratio of the number of retrieved relevant documents to the number of retrieved documents. # of relevant documents retrieved # of relevant documents retrieved = = # of relevant documents in collection # of relevant documents in collection If focusing on recall, it often produce a lot of junk. If focus on precision, it is possible that it might miss some important information. If focusing on recall, it often produce a lot of junk. If focus on precision, it is possible that it might miss some important information.

Provide relevant summaries with the search results. Provide relevant summaries with the search results. Offer clear organization of the Search Results. Offer clear organization of the Search Results. Provide good hyperlinked titles for each hit. Provide good hyperlinked titles for each hit. Use log files to tailor results for the most comon search terms (popularity). Use log files to tailor results for the most comon search terms (popularity). Common misspelling checks. Common misspelling checks. Provide support for common search tasks. Provide support for common search tasks. Search Result Pages

The statistics of numbers of the results found Original Query Page or document titles URL of returned page Page summaries Page summaries Spell Checks

Links to the next set of results Provide chance to search again

Organized vs. Unorganized

Organized vs. Unorganized

Organized vs. Unorganized

Can ’ t find Results? Clear unsuccessful search message suggestions for searching again suggestions for searching again Easy to type in the search again

Keep search tool in a consistent place on every page. Keep search tool in a consistent place on every page. Straightforward search forms. Straightforward search forms. Appearance. Appearance. Meaningful description. Meaningful description. Result Organization. Result Organization. Open a new window. Open a new window. Help/Support. Help/Support. IA Search Design

Reference Reference Schlein, M. Alan(1999) Find it Online: the Complete Guide to Online Research. Tempe,AZ: Facts on Demand Press Schlein, M. Alan(1999) Find it Online: the Complete Guide to Online Research. Tempe,AZ: Facts on Demand Press Morville, Peter(1999) The Internet Searcher ’ s Handbook. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. Morville, Peter(1999) The Internet Searcher ’ s Handbook. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. Ackermann, Ernest and Hartman, Karen(1999) The information Specialist ’ s guide to searching &researching on the Internet & WWW. London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. Ackermann, Ernest and Hartman, Karen(1999) The information Specialist ’ s guide to searching &researching on the Internet & WWW. London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. Hock, Randolph(2001) The Extreme Searcher ’ s Guide to Web Search Engines. New Jersey: CyberAge Books. Hock, Randolph(2001) The Extreme Searcher ’ s Guide to Web Search Engines. New Jersey: CyberAge Books. Glossbrenner, Alfred and Glossbrenner, Emily(2001) Search Engines for the WWW. Berkeley, CA: PeachPit Press. Glossbrenner, Alfred and Glossbrenner, Emily(2001) Search Engines for the WWW. Berkeley, CA: PeachPit Press.

Reference Reference Morville, P., Rosenfeld, L. B. & Janes, J. (1999) The Internet searcher ’ s handbook : locating information, people, and software. 2nd Edition. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. NY, USA. Morville, P., Rosenfeld, L. B. & Janes, J. (1999) The Internet searcher ’ s handbook : locating information, people, and software. 2nd Edition. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. NY, USA. Van Duyne, D., Landay, and Hong, J. (2003) The Design of Sites. Addison-Wesley, MA, USA Van Duyne, D., Landay, and Hong, J. (2003) The Design of Sites. Addison-Wesley, MA, USA Large, Andrew and Hartley, R.J.(1999) Information Seeking in the Online Age: Princeples and Practice. UK: Bowker-Saur. Large, Andrew and Hartley, R.J.(1999) Information Seeking in the Online Age: Princeples and Practice. UK: Bowker-Saur.