© Tefko Saracevic 1 Principles of Searching [17:610:530] or ‘e530’ for short Overview of the course and a bit of history

© Tefko Saracevic 1

Principles of Searching[17:610:530] or ‘e530’ for short

Overview of the course and a bit of history


Table of content

1. Summary of sundry requirements

2. Basic definitions

3. Syllabus

4. Why? Rationale & objectives

5. What? Themes and topics

6. How? Goings on

7. A bit of history


1.Summary of sundry requirements

Described in detail in: “Before the start: what you need to have and know, and how to get it”

and in the Syllabus and in eCollege tutorials(follow the links there)


Before• Prerequisite courses: none

– but this course is a pre- or co-requisite for many other courses

• Have a Rutgers University Computing Services (RUCS) email account (NetID) – full access to online resources in Rutgers

University Libraries (RUL) requires using your Rutgers NetID

– get a RUL card for other library services– but you can use any email address for

course communication• Know how to use RUL

– particularly use from home & use of electronic resources e.g. getting journal articles

– many instructions on RUL site• Have a DIALOG account

– will get it from the instructor– will get other accounts as time goes by


Required competencies• eCollege:

– please take the eCollege tutorial before the course

• Email: (of course)– be comfortable incl. with attachments

• Word & PowerPoint (also "of course")– take tutorials, as necessary – (I am still taking them when I need to

finesse something)• Computer, internet, the web

– be comfortable, take tutorials– e.g. logins, file transfer, download

• Rutgers has many computing services for students, – including myRutgers, a personalized

portal– explore and use them


How to get them?• A must: MLIS bootcamp tutorials

– created by MLIS students for "MLIS students on some of the many technical skills that they will need in order to have a successful school year.“ Even if you know, review them!

• Required competencies could be gained and sharpened through MLIS and Rutgers tutorials, as well as many other online tutorials

• Please review your competencies through these tutorials! – these topics will NOT be covered in

the course, but are assumed. FULLY!

• Links to all are in mentioned course documents


Communication• Email

– through eCollege email functions• whole class• one-on-one• by group

• eCollege Chat– discussion room or rooms

• groups have own chat room• could be on different topics• could be private

– ClassLive - a live chat room

• By phone– instructor will provide times when available

• In person– drop in to SCILS and see me or lets meet

at some conference or event


Coursework

• Course Home Page– announcements – Course Checklist

• Class Lounge– like a blogspace; use for blog– introduce yourself

• Threaded discussion– simulates class discussion– depended on module & topic

• discuss, reply, comment…

• Dropbox– submitting & retrieving

assignments– graded assignments returned


Coursework (cont.)• Journal

• place where you can make notes & record thoughts

• option of sharing

• Document sharing• uploading & downloading documents

by instructor & students• but other documents from RUL

directly

• Webliography• relevant sites submitted by instructor

& students; could be annotated

• Calendar• schedule of course events

• Gradebook• providing grades& comments


Student groups

• Groups of three or four colleagues will be formed– each group will have a letter

designation & a name you chose– in addition to group chat room and

email you can work out among yourselves a method for communication, exchanges

• Why groups? – foster easier and multiple exchanges– form a small discussion assembly– help each other, raise questions,

explain, discuss … outside of more formal channels

• Groups will work together as necessary & should cooperate as to exercises

• A group will present some of the results together


2. Basic definitions

These are really basic, and many more will be presented during the course and found in

readings


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 standarda standard of moral or ethical

decision-making

3. way of working the basic way in which something

works

4. sourcethe primary source of something

All fit this course, but which one fits best?


sear′ching, search [surch](verb, noun, adjective)

1. penetrating or probingobserving acutely or examining

thoroughly2. examine thoroughly

to look into, over, or through something carefully in order to find somebody or something

3. examine computer fileto 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


3. Syllabus

Only an outline is given here.The document is long and detailed.Basic to everything we are doing.

Worth a periodic consultation, particularly as to assignments, final

project, formats, bibliography, etc etc etc


Content of syllabus

• Course description– as in the catalog

• Rationale of the course – Why? – motivation and justification for the course

• summarized in next section

– all course sections – modules – start with a Why? and then go on to What? And How?

• Before the start: what you need to have and know, and how to get it – we already went through this

• Course purpose and objectives – summarized in section 4

• Organization of the course – summarized in section 5


syllabus cont.

• Coursework – summarized in section 6– answers FAQ, so before asking it is

good to consult syllabus

• Method of assessment– how you will be graded

• Academic integrity– Rutgers policy and statements on

Student responsibility and Faculty responsibility

– Plagiarism policy

• Bibliography– readings and how to obtain them


4. Why? Rationale & objectives

Now we are finally getting to the stuff that the course is all about


Why we have this course?

• Details in syllabus & course outline, summary here

• Number & variety of information resources is HUGE– growing at a very high rate - called

“information explosion”

• Great many people search for information– few do it well – even fewer know how well they are doing

• As professionals, librarians were always concerned with searching for information on behalf of users– with the advent of electronic information

resources and the web, searching has changed in many ways


Why? cont.

• Searching has become a complex process involving interaction between people, information, & technology

• A professional understands complex processes & interactions involved in searching and putting them effectively to practice

• You are asking:– How do I search effectively and

efficiently a variety of information resources for users?

– How do I evaluate what was searched and provided?


Course objectivesIntegrated understanding of:

• Content: Subject, structure & vocabularies of information resources

• Systems: Models of information retrieval (IR) systems, search engines & digital libraries as used in searching

• Human-human interaction: User information seeking as the context for searching; mediation & interviewing

• Human-computer interaction: Principles for effective searching & variations in search strategies & tactics

• Results: Alternatives in presentation of results to users; evaluation of results

• Professional concerns: Ethical norms & life-long learning.


In order to search you need an understanding of:

Results: What & how topresent; evaluate

Content: What is in the sources? How is it organized?

Systems: Where? What kinds? IR, web, dig libraries...

Human-human interaction: How? You and the user

Human-computer interaction: How? You and the computer

Professional conduct: ethics …


Symbolically ...

?Results

Content

System

HHI

HCI

Professionally


What will the course NOT do?

• Create professional searchers or “extreme searchers” out of you

• Make you an expert on databases, systems, information retrieval, search engines, the web


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


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

• 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


5. What? Themes and modules

Organization of the course as to coverage

with emphasis on modules as basic units


Organization• Semester lasts 16 weeks• Course has 16 modules – one for

each week of the semester• Modules are grouped into themes

– there are 8 themes following objectives:

A. At the start (module1)B. Content (modules 2 &3)C. Systems (modules 4, 5 & 6)D. Human-computer interaction

(modules 7, 8 & 9)E. Human-human interaction (modules

10 & 11)F. Results (modules 12 & 13)G. Professional concerns (modules 14

& 15)H. At the end (module 16)


ModulesEach module has an outline as

to:

• Title of the module

• Why? the rationale for presenting this module and questions you should ask

• What? a list of topics covered in the module

• How? presentation and tasks for the module

– elaborated in section 6


Topics covered

Theme A: AT THE START

Module 1. Overview of the course and a bit of history

B. CONTENT

2. Types and structures of information resources

3. Types and structures of vocabularies

C. SYSTEMS

4. Information retrieval

5. Interaction in information retrieval

6. Search engines. Digital libraries


Topics covered (cont.)

D. HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION

7. Search techniques and effectiveness

8. Advanced searching9.

Web search and the invisible web

E. HUMAN-HUMAN INTERACTION

10. Information seeking. User modeling

11. Mediation between search intermediaries and users


Topics covered (cont.)

F. RESULTS

12. Evaluation of search sources and results

13. Presentation to users

G. PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS

14. Ethics. Competitive intelligence

15. Keeping up: sources for life-time learning

H. AT THE END

16. Student presentations and conclusions


6. How? Goings on

Coursework:Ways and means we are

going about doing the course

AND schedules


Mix

• The course is a mix of– theory– experimentation– practice

• Why theory?– base for further understanding &

professional development• knowing theory separates learning from

“training”, a professional from a technician or paraprofessional

– nothing more practical than a good theory

– theory endures through changes in systems & software

• theory makes learning new systems easier

– theory helps with understanding & helps learning “stick”


Structure of coursework

• Each module has:1. a lecture on the module topic

2. assignments as to readings

3. exercises for searching

4. tips for thought

• There is also a term project – a semester long task focusing

on providing a search service to a selected user


Schedule

• Assignments and exercises for each module are done on a weekly basis starting Monday, due on the next Monday

• The semester long term project is due on the Monday after the last class week, with two progress reports as scheduled (1/3 and 2/3 into the semester)

• Schedule is provided on course site


Lectures

• Each module has a lecture on the topic– lectures are in PowerPoint– best viewed if downloaded & then

run on own computer• go to Doc Sharing; Select View:

Lectures; & open, save from there

– most lectures contain some links to other sites, providing further explanation, examples, or resources

– some lectures slides have notes with further explanatory text

• terms/phrases that have a * (asterisk) have associated notes


Assignments• Assignments refer to READINGS

ONLY– associated with module topic and

lecture– some readings are required – they

have to be summarized and summaries turned in

– other readings are for read-only and discussion or reference

• Full citation to readings is in the bibliography

• Readings are either at RUL, on class web site, or the web– sometimes you will have to search

• (after all this is a searching class!)


Summaries (for required readings only)

• Provide a brief synthesis of main ideas, facts AND– possibly a critical review e.g– relate to (points added for this):

• relevant personal, professional experiences with library & information services; examples

• translation/implication for practice• other readings, topics, courses,

project, exercise and/or• raise questions for discussion and

discuss with group

• Format, style: • format as prescribed in syllabus• but style of summaries is your choice


Tips for summaries

• Start with heading as prescribed – points deducted if

not

• Use APA style• Two to three

pages maximum• Use 12 point font

– single space– 1 inch margins

• Submit on time

• React to readings• Tie in with

practice• Integrate w/ other

knowledge, experience and course work

• Demonstrate thought & learning

• Include questions and criticism

• Do not merely summarize readings

FORMAT: CONTENT:


Exercises• Purpose: to obtain practical training

in a variety of systems– the purpose 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, LexisNexis, web, search

engines, digital libraries …– or search for answers for given

questions– or use a variety of tactics & features

• Work cooperatively in groups• At times independent of lecture topic

– but has its own logic in progression


Examples of first few exercises

• Involves DIALOG*

• Take DIALOG tutorials

• LEARN & PRACTICE:– Contents of databases– Structure of databases &

records - BLUE SHEETS– Basic search commands– Basic output commands– Logical operators, execution– Truncation– Searching in fields– DIALINDEX; OneSearch


Tips for thought

• Informal – questions, ideas to be pondered

on your own– guidelines for further learning &

exploration on your own– sometimes things to lighten up

• You can contribute

• Can be used in group discussion

• But there is nothing that is required, nothing to turn in


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


Term project• Select a specific user with an inf.

need to do an online search– no family or significant others*

• Interview the user – if necessary several times with feedback

• Construct a user model• Select resources for searching• Construct search strategies &

conduct searching - reiterate• Organize results for presentation• Present results to user; evaluate• Write a technical report


Term project deliverables

There are two:

1. A report to the user• suggest you follow presentation

guidelines as suggested in module 13

• does NOT have to be presented to the instructor or class – it is between you and your user!

2. A technical report to the instructor

• discussed next and in the syllabus at length


Technical report(details in the syllabus)

• Selection of user: who?

• User question & model – what task? how much knows? what topics?

terminology? 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

– what does or does not work? – what effects of decisions?– what would you do differently?– this section VERY important!


7. A bit of history

A short chronology

rather than history


Antecedents

• Europe before WWII– strong documentation movement

• Universal Decimal Classification, indexing of scientific literature

• In the US right after WWII concern about information explosion, particularly in science– Vannevar Bush’s classic article “As

we may think” in Atlantic Monthly in 1945 stirred imagination & funding

• problem: “the massive task of making more accessible a bewildering store of knowledge.”

• solution: use of new technology, “Memex” as idealized model

• can you find it?


Beginnings• NSF acts of 1950 & 1958 mandate

support for scientific information– to this day supports research &

development in this area, including digital libraries

– sparked involvement from many fields & many funded projects

• 1951 Calvin Mooers coined term “information retrieval” (IR)

• 1950’s mechanized IR systems emerged

• Societies and conferences emerged related to problems of IR and broader issues


Onto the real world• 1960s saw computer applications for

IR blossoming• Also library automation emerged, incl.

MARC• Late 1960’s: Medline, the online

version of MEDLARS (Nat. Libr. of Medicine) came out– this was online way before the internet &

web

• Early 1970’s: DIALOG and ORBIT established – commercial online vendors (ORBIT later merged into other vendors)

• Professional searching grew at high rate


Research• In 1960’s Gerald Salton & his

students in computer science pioneered research into advanced IR methods– addressed technical or system side of IR– great many good results over decades– but it took decades before results applied

commercially, but today all vendors & search engines use it

– continues to this day internationally– particularly under TREC (Text Retrieval

Conference) (find it?)

• Research and IR still closely connected– source of advances


Research (cont.)

• 1970s & 80s also saw emergence of research dealing with the human (user) side of IR– addressed users, use of information & IR

systems– basic notions, such as relevance

• In the 1990’s till present areas:– interaction in IR, or human-computer

interaction– information seeking– human information behavior

• Human and system side of research do not mesh well– still & unfortunately


Net• Internet first went live in 1969 as

ARPANET, an inter-university net – in 1983 replaced by TCP/IP protocol still in

use today – i.e. present internet was born– in 1990 became NSFnet, broadening reach

significantly– in 1992 NSF pulled out & offered to broad

public & commercial use• By 1980s it became a force

– by 1990’s it took the world• In 1991 Tim Berners-Lee developed

world wide web– in 1993 first browser developed (Mosaic to

become Netscape)– became fastest growing & spreading

technology in history• Search engines

– Yahoo launched in 1993 & Google in 1999– affected searching enormously– today over 3000 search engines in over

150 countries


Digital libraries

• Emerged in mid 1990s• Involved

– massive research programs ( still going on)

– massive investments by libraries• changed the library landscape• particularly as to access & searching

– the two don’t communicate much

• Brought together IR & libraries• Today vast international presence

– many institutions in addition to libraries involved, e.g. museums, societies

• Major resource (& headache) for searchers– large variety of texts, images, sounds

digitized all over the world


Future?


A perspective: searching is a journey of discovery


another perspective …


still another perspective

Documents

© Tefko Saracevic 1 Principles of Searching [17:610:530] or ‘e530’ for short Overview of the course and a bit of history