A Superior Search Strategy for Information Searching Behavior of the Client - Report Example

Type the company name] Information Consultant’s Report Name – Student Number 9/17/2011 Executive Summary This is a report presenting the findings obtained by an information consultant for the client based on the client request coupled with the information obtained during interview conducted by the information consultant trying to prop further information on the client’s information requirements. The findings are: 1. Obtained from the client request for information, this is reinforced by the information that was added by the client during the interview with the information consultant. 2. Majorly, online searches have been used and full description of how to be obtained have been given, this will be very helpful for the research in conducting the research. 3. The online resources search strategies have been discussed in the report in details for various tools and information search strategies available at user’s disposal. Each tool and strategy has been described. 4. The strengths and weakness of the report have been reflected toward the end of the document; it also gives a rating for the document based on the facts and figures used as well as the details given on the booklet. The initial process of the formulation of this report has not been left out; a full description of the information requirement of the client has been demonstrated from two perspectives; the client request perspective and the interview perspective. Contents Executive summary…………………………………………………..1 Table of contents……………………………………………………..2 1. Introduction ………………………………………….………….3 1.1. Client information needs Synopsis……….…………….4 1.2. Search objectives……………………………..………….7 1.3. Analysis of key words and synonyms………..…….…...8 1.4. Online resources selected…………………….……….…9 1.5. Online resources and search strategies…..……..……....10 1.6. A reflection and grades allocation…………..….……...1 2. Conclusion ………………………………………………….…..16 3. References………………………………………………….……17 4. Appendix…………………………………………………….…..18 1. Introduction In the twenty-first century, technology is changing more frequently with economic growth rate is increasing. Apparently information is the key of success in the generation since a lot of emphasis is placed on information; no wonder the tag ‘information age’. Obtaining such information requires skills. There is plenty of information particularly in the internet yet people are still in dire need on the same information. The separating factor between the people and the information is the information searching techniques, (Oberholzer, and Strumpf, 2004). Information searching is not just querying the database but it requires clear formulation of question and relevant and appropriate selection of the search terms. First of all the searcher need to understand the type of information to be searched along with the appropriate terms to use in the search then should have adequate knowledge of the search database available at hand and be able to choose the search tools that will satisfy information needs at hand coupled with the knowledge and familiarity of the user interface of the search engine. The client topic of interest on this information needs report will be used to demonstrate superior search strategy for information searching behavior. Client information needs are addressed in this report; this includes twenty information resources following the client’s request. In finer details this report present a brief description of patron needs coupled with the strategy used to reach the resources. It also includes search tools and techniques that patrons can use to obtain the resources that suit the requested information needs 1.1. Synopsis of Client Information Needs In an interview with a client, it was established that he client need information on pirating in relation to music industry. The patron knew very little about this topic but managed to describe the type of information that would meet the information needs at hand. It was established that the client needed information on effects of pirating in the music industry, moral issues and legislation on the pirating in Australia and oversees countries together with government efforts to stop pirating. The client also thought that he information on other agencies that that have tried to stop music pirating would help and insisted that their methodology was more important. The patron also requested for a successful case of piracy; real life experience from within Australia or foreign country. The patron also wanted statistical data on the illegal downloads of songs and how this affects the music industry and the musicians themselves. In the legislation, the client inquired about the law governing pirating in Australia and penalties that are attracted as a result of a breach of such legislation as well as the government deliberate move to stop piracy other that the technical perspective. Outside Australia the client wanted to know what is happening overseas to stop pirating as well as penalties attracted by this crime. News papers, government websites where he client’s preferred sources of information, the client declined the academic document because he thought most readers were from the age of thirty five to forty since they formed the average age readers. This report assumes what the client says through the request is true despites the confession that he or she is green in the field and doesn’t know much. Another assumption is that the terms used in the search will retrieve only the relevant information in the topic and not only the document which contain the search terms used and the last assumption is that the information retrieved will come from trusted sources and not just those which were posted without enough research. Below is the hypothetical interview of the information consultant and the client Interview questions and answers Consultant: Please explain further what you the type of information you would like to get Client: Precisely, I need information on pirating specifically in the music industry along with that on legal and moral aspect in the same field. Consultant: What exactly is you interest pirating the music industry? Client: I would like to get information on pirating and in particular the implications of pirating in the entire music industry and how the people working in the industries are affected by the piracy Consultant: How would you like your information packaged? Client: I would like information which is pro government and placed in the middle of the newspaper as opposed to the academics and technical sections. Consultant: Can you expound more on the specific information which you would like included in the package Client: I am green in this topic and actually know very little but I would be glad to see some successful case studies on this topic included in the findings, examples from the government since majority of the newspapers users are young adults between the age of thirty-five and forty. Consultant: Now you can tell me more details about the particular aspects you would like use deal with is depth. Client: I would like to get detailed information on the music industry and the legal issues of pirating and the penalties attracted by crime of pirating in Australia and the world in general Consultant: Which resource would you like in the report? Client: The resources should not be highly academic in nature; rather I would like more of information from the government websites and the newspapers Consultant: Will information on case studies and agencies that are trying to stop music pirating be helpful to you? Client: They will be of great help especially the method they want to use to stop pirating stop pirating which does not include the technical aspects 1.2. Search Objective Based on the collected facts from the client’s request and the information obtained from the interview, I presume the patron wants information on pirating, specifically a detailed description of pirating and implication of pirating in music industry and its stake holders. Alongside the above, the client also demonstrated the need for knowledge on aspects relating to legal issues, moral issues and penalties of pirating in Australia and other foreign countries. The patron also wanted to know deliberate moves by the government to stop pirating as well as see examples of cases studies and success stories on the topic. The deduced objectives of the search will therefore include: 1.2.1. A detailed description of pirating 1.2.2. Pirating on the music industry, and its effect on the industry and musicians 1.2.3. Legislation of pirating in Australia and foreign countries; moral issues associated with pirating along with penalties attracted by violation laws on pirating. 1.2.4. Examples of successful case studies and steps take to stop pirating in Australia and beyond. 1.2.5. Prior efforts of the government to stop pirating other than use of legislation coupled with those efforts demonstrated by other non governmental agencies in stopping the same; the methods used are very important as long as they don’t take the technical perspective. 1.3. Selection of terminology to be used during the search 1.3.1. Based on the fact that the client wants a detailed description on pirating; the table outlines the related and synonymous terms which can be used in a search to retrieve relevant information. Table 1 First concept Pirating Pirates piracy copy illegally thieves plagiarize pirate 1.3.2. The other concept is the information on effects of pirating on music industry and stakeholders in the industry; this table shows synonymous and related terms that can be used in the search to retrieve relevant information. Table 2 First key concept Second key concept Third key concept Fourth key concept Musicians Music Industry Piracy Artist Musician Instrumentalist Composer Melody Songs Tune Commerce Manufacturing Business Pirates piracy copy illegally thieves plagiarize pirate 1.3.3. Terminology selected based on the concept of information needs on legal issues of pirating in Australia and other foreign countries; moral issues associated with pirating along with penalties attracted by violation laws on pirating Table 3 First concept Second concept Third concept Fourth concept Legal Moral Penalty Pirating Legalized Authorized Lawful Justified Honest Ethics Fine Punishment Fine Pirates piracy copy illegally thieves plagiarize pirate 1.3.4. Example Successful real life case study of programs plans to stop pirating in Australia and the world in general. First concept Second concept Third concept Fourth concept Fifth concept Australia Case Example Pirating Overseas Australian Australia’s Cases Record Document Documentation Report Examples Exemplification Model identify Identification Pirates piracy copy illegally thieves plagiarize pirate Foreign External Other Countries 1.4. Online Resource Selected From the interview, the client suggested the use of information in resources like the newspaper, website of governments and declined the ones that are very academic. Hence the first preferred online resource was Google uses an efficient algorithm that gives the user the relevant results to their search and anew technology that organizes people search into categories while focusing the search on items of relevance as a result of narrowing the searches. Alexandrous, (2009) findings according to his survey of the 1000 interviewees 52% used Google, 22% Yahoo while MSN from Microsoft and AOL had 9% both and finally Ask Jeeves Inc.came with around 5%. ProQuest the second popular online resource a database focused much on information resources that provide successful ways to search for information, retrieve and use. The user gets a different view about the topic as the resources in ProQuest are from different countries this database also covers major topics i.e. health, education, information technology, (Alexandrou, 2009). 1.5. Search Strategies for each Online Resource Google is simple search engine that can best serve those who know its feature, capabilities and how it returns the results from searches. The request made to Google search engine is called a query. A well formulated query is the basis for desired result. The structure of the query is what will determine the results returned from the search. First the results will depend on the choice of terms used and the order of appearance. It is therefore important to select the appropriate terms that best describe information requirements of the client The search strategies that are available at searcher’s disposal include; 1) Boolean operators 2) Proximity search 3) Truncation 4) Sets 5) Thesauri vocabulary 1.5.1. Using Google 1. Pirating i. The search strategy at the starting point The searches in this case will return all the documents containing the word ‘Piracy’ of which not all will be relevant to the information needs of the searcher. ii. Advanced search It is necessary to search using this strategy since Google is an open source. Using this strategy will reduce the scope of the search and hence producing more precise results that are relevant to the search. For this case the client will get information about pirates. In considering to have the phrase void of any change the search uses the Phrase search (‘’).This therefore means that the use of structure Google gives the searcher the opportunity to retrieve the exact information that will satisfy the information needs of the client. 2. Copy illegally - Pirate iii. The search strategy at the starting point iv. Advanced search Google being an open source is very effective in this search strategy meaning everybody can add their stuff hence, the Phrase search (‘’) used in this search considers the use of the exact words in the exact order. The use of Boolean operators like ‘OR’ will help ensuring that all the words in the selected are included in the results of the search. However the search strategy directs Google to find the exact word for ‘copy illegally’ then the word ‘pirate’ as a whether together with the former or alone, (Landler, 2004). 3. “Pirating “music OR industry OR Piracy. i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search strategy This search strategy is necessary in this search since Google is an open source. The Phrase search (“”) in this search considers the exact words in the exact order void of any change. Also OR operator used considers all the words in search meaning Google searches for the exact word for pirating then other words to expand the search 5. Pirate* music OR industry i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search The strategy was using the fill in the blanks (*) feature, Google treats the asterisk as a placeholder for any unknown term(s) or letters then fill the best matches. Also OR can be used to include all the desired terms in the search 6. Pirating “penalty” punishment OR fine i. Initial Search Strategy ii. Advanced search Google being an open source is effective using this search strategy. Also the Phrase search (“”) used in this search considers the exact words in the exact order void of any change. OR operator used also consider all words in a search meaning Google will Search for the exact word for penalty then searches for other words to expand the search, (Whitmire, 2003). 7. Pirate moral OR ethical i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search In this strategy google will produce information that is mostly relevant to the client`s need. Hence, the main source feature is OR operator in this strategy which makes Google consider all the words in a search, (Whitmire, 2003). Thus, this search strategy allowed me expands the search in finding items most likely relevant to the client information needs. 8. Piracy “example” Australia OR overseas i. Initial Search Strategy ii. Advanced search Since Google is an open source it is necessary to use this strategy in this search. In addition this search used the Phrase search (“”) in considering the exact words in the exact order void of any change. More so used OR operator to consider all the words in a search meaning Google searches for the exact word example then search for other words to expand the search, (Whitmire, 2003). Thus, this search strategy allowed me in finding items most likely relevant to the client`s needs. 9. Music industry “Piracy” musician i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search Since Google is an open source it is effective when using this search strategy. Also the phrase search (“”) used in this search considers the exact words in the exact order void of any change, (Oddy, 1997). More so OR operator used considers all the words in a search meaning that Google searches for the exact word Piracy and then search other words to expand the search. 5.1.2. ProQuest 1. Music industry AND Musician AND Pirate i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search ProQuest is a tool which facilitates further narrowing of the scope of search t o produce more relevant information materials. This strategy uses the Boolean operator AND to query the database. The operator AND instructs the browser to retrieve all the documents containing all the information material containing the all the terms connected by the operator, (Oddy, 1997). 2. Music industry OR Piracy i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search strategy This search increases the scope of the search since the browser is instructed by the Boolean operator OR to query the database and retrieve all the documents containing either of the terms. It will first of all find those documents contain the ‘music industry’ then retrieve all those containing the term ‘piracy’ 3. Punish* AND Penalt* AND Piracy Using the operator AND will always yield results that are more relevant to the search since the focus has been narrowed to all those documents which contain all the mentioned terms. This database called ProQuest is highly effective in using this type of the search, (Oddy,1997).. However the use of the truncation simple ‘*’ request the browser to look for terms that contain something else apart from the mention letters and therefore retrieves all the document that have the plural of the term like the term ‘penalt’ has been truncated and therefore will retrieve all the document that have the prefix penalt like penalty, penalties and penalties’ 4. Ethic* AND Piracy AND Moral i. The search strategy at the starting point ii. Advanced search strategy As mentioned earlier the use of AND here will narrow the search to focus more on the relevant documents and retrieve only the documents which contain all the documents which contain the three terms that have been connected by the AND operator. The asterisk symbol ‘*’ will help find multiplies of the incomplete word returning all the document s which have the word in many forms. Australia AND Piracy W/3 legal i. Initial search strategy ii. Advanced serch strategy The connector AND will narrow the search, while the W/3 will further narrow the search because it instructs the browser to find only the documents which the words appear within a distance of three words. The scope of the documents retrieved will have been limited but will be more relevant to the information needs of the client Example AND piracy i. Initial search strategy ii. Advanced searches strategy ProQuest here will allow the searcher to retrieve more relevant information on and focused in to the user information needs since the scope of the search has been narrowed by the use of the operator AND. Always, the use of operator AND narrows the scope of the search to few but more relevant information. 1.6. A reflection of the discussion and grade allocation In this report, there are weaknesses and strengths, to start with the strengths, all the information the client needed have been documented here. On top of this, a variety of search strategies have been discussed elaborately; the use of this strategies will help the client access to the right information that will be helpful. The report has a high level structure but clearly understandable. The weaknesses of the report include the fact that he search tools are highly complex and not all the features of control have been used exhaustively. This may reduce the quality of the documents to be retrieved for the client. The range of marks for the report should be around between six and seven because the is a good discussion of the client needs, the interview together with the information obtained from the client shows a detailed understanding of the client informational needs. The selected search objectives in the report are largely relevant to the client needs. The second part of this report has concentrated on the online resources search. The search has been moderated to suit the available search tools. Towards the end, there is a discussion on the quality of the work. The report is highly structured with a wonderful for. 2.0 Conclusion: To sum it up, the report is give details of all the information required by the client ranging from those obtained from the client request to those requested by the client in the interview giving a detailed explanation of how to retrieve it. On top of that, online search tools have been described and evaluated hence a discussion giving the basis of the selection of tools that have been chosen for the purpose of this research. A clear and understandable discussion of the how to used the tool to retrieve information have also been included. Search strategies have also been discussed to help the user broaden the search or narrow the search so that the returned information can satisfy the needs at hand. Base on the discussions the on the information search strategies, it is expected that the documents retrieved from the search will satisfy client needs. Toward the end the resources resulting from the search have been listed to demonstrate how relevant the information is 3.0. Reference Alexandrou, M. (2009) Most People Use Google. Retrieved on: September 22, 2010, from http://www.allthingssem.com/most-people-use-google/ Belkin, N. J., Marchetti, P. G., & Cool, C. (1993) Design of an interface to support user interaction in information retrieval: Information Processing & management, 29(3): 325-344. Landler, M. (2004) ‘Fight Against Illegal File-sharing is Moving Overseas’, New York Times, 31 March: 1. Lessig, L. (2004) Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. New York: Penguin Press. Maxwell, I. (2002) ‘The Curse of Fandom: Insiders, Outsiders, and Ethnography’,in D. Hesmondhalgh and K. Negus (eds) Popular Music Studies, pp. 103–16. New York: Oxford University Press Oberholzer, F. and K. Strumpf (2004) ‘The Effect of File-sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis (March)’, http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/ papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf (accessed 20 May 2004). Oddy, R.N., (1997) Information retrieval through man-machine dialogue. Journal of Documentation, 33 (1): 1-14. Whitmire, E. (2003). Epistemological beliefs and the information-seeking behavior of undergraduates. Library & Information Science Research, 25, 127-142. 4.0. Appendix 1.1 Framework for Evaluating Online Resources 1 Name of the online resource Google engine Creators: Google Geographical Regions Covered by the resource It is a worldwide engine but it always identifies the region where the user is, from where the information will be obtained hence returning the information from the region first therefore the information obtained by the user will be from that particular region. The period of Time included From September 2010 to date Type of information materials in the database It has a wide range of information materials running from web pages, conference papers, audio, audiovisuals and graphic files, reports, images (academic, government, and commercials), personal webpage, and blogs on questions and topics on current issues. Integrity of the documents (i.e. for example does trustworthy is the information? Has it undergone any peer review before publication) Some documents like academic journals undergo peer review before publication some are first hand information and some information on particular specific companies. However, it is not guaranteed since peer Review pose a problem due to the nature of open source materials. Nature of the items included are Full text, Indexes, Indexes & Abstracts Google covers a wide range of materials; it has almost anything one may need or even sometime everything. It has information on Full text, Indexes, Indexes & Abstracts Search Control tools and strategies 1. Boolean Use the three control operators OR, AND and NOT; OR broadens the scope of retrieved materials, AND and NOT narrow the search to include only relevant information. All the Boolean operators are used in capital letter during a search to identify it from the normal sentence connectors. Google can allow the user to use more than one or once an operator to retrieve information. 2. Sets Set is 3. Truncation Using truncations is also allowed in Google, however using of truncation in Google is unique since you are not only restricted to use the truncation for the part of the word but a whole word as well. 4. Proximity Controlled vocabulary usage commonly known as Proximity is also supported by Google search engine. 5. Field Searching The use of field searching in the information search limits the range of information materials’ returned from the search. it give the user the opportunity to select the factors like the Geographical region the information is to be obtained, the currency of the information i.e. one is able to choose from the time range and the language of the document to be retrieved. Limit Commands the year of publication or type of the publication Google may be restricted through language and user input User Help Feature present Google provides basic help the user Charges on information usage Google is open source and free to the public, the only const incurred is the cost incurred in connecting to the internet. Complexity of the user interface Google search engine has a user friendly interface. Its structure is very simple because it does not have any distraction hence navigation is made simpler. Google very smooth, efficient and effective making it easy to navigate through the numerous web pages and return to the main search page at the top or bottom of each resulting web page. Accuracy of Information or information reliability This highly depends on the information the user is searching. Reliability is limited by the fact that Google is an open source engine which anybody can add anything to it with little or no limitation. Strengths of Google as an information search tool Being an international search engine, Google can provide a lot of information to researchers; this make it popular and hence one of the strengths. This fact is useful in several cases except for academic works because one can access a lot of government information from Google, people’s opinions and news. Weaknesses of Google as an information search too Google as a search tool has two main weaknesses, the first one is as a result of its open source nature anybody can add information and therefore the accuracy of information is questionable. The second is that Google has false drop in a search where one searches for information and a lot of irrelevant documents are retrieved; this is also attributed to the limited search control tools available at the researcher’s disposal. Results expected from the search According to the client request of information, Google can be helpful in searching for information which will best address the problem at hand since the information requirement is just basic. Government and other organization information will be accessed to via Google. Google might also be helpful in searching for reports, statistical data and case studies. Plenty of information of various governments is available in the Google searches hence information on government legislation on the topic presented by the client might be accessed in Google engine. 1.2 Framework for Evaluating Online Resources 2 Name of the Online Resource ProQuest Creators:  ProQuest Geographic Coverage International Specific time Coverage Not specified Materials Available in the Database ProQuest include highly academic materials like Journals, dissertations, working papers and other news materials like magazine, newspaper, trade publication and reports. Peer Review It can either be yes, or no depending on the journal material the researcher is searching. It is important to note that ProQuest has a group of professionals who go through the journal materials before they are published. Information materials available ProQuest has a wide range of materials which include Indexes alone, Index & Abstract and Full text materials Search Control Features used in the ProQuest include: 1. Boolean ProQuest allows searches using Boolean operators ( AND, OR and NOT) they should be in capital letters as shown to avoid confusion with normal connectors 2. Truncation However, It can be increase by the user Also the truncation and wild card are *. 3. Controlled Vocabulary ProQuest engine does not have truncation support tools for the browsers. 4. Proximity ProQuest supports Proximity searches as well 5. Sets ProQuest also allows 2 sets to be entered at a go. 6. Field Searching ProQuest allows the searcher to limit his searches through the use of publications field searching. It generally provides the search with the opportunity to limit on company or organization, geographical location and publication title by using title field option. Available Limit Commands Publication type Journal title Geographical Location Author Date of publication Document language Review article Availability of Help Feature for the Searchers ProQuest provides structured help to searchers when they face difficulties. This is extended to the users who have a problem with ProQuest, they can provide their email contact to solve their where they can be send emails on the course of solving their problems. Charges and fees for use of resources The database does not give clear information on the charges of information usage. User control features ProQuest can be accessed at ProQuest.com. It is has a easy to navigate structure that the user can easily understand. At each page, there are forward links as well as backward options hence ease navigation in browsing. Accuracy and Integrity of Information Information in ProQuest is accurate because all the information getting to ProQuest has to undergo an editing/indexing process before they are added to the database. Strengths of ProQuest as a Research Tool ProQuest advanced control features for searching is one of its strengths. It allows the user to manipulate the searching process efficient and effective. Weaknesses of ProQuest as a Research Tool ProQuest database is rarely updated and hence information therein is not very updated. Expectation on this Resource Based on Client Information Needs ProQuest might be very helpful in finding reports that the client needs. It will also provide detailed discussions on case studies on the client’s topic of interest. It can also assist researcher in obtaining an overview of basic knowledge of the information on patron’s needs. Read More