Search Systems

1
Search Systems

• From Information Architecture
• Rosenfeld and Morville

2
Chapter Overview

• Does Your Site Need Search?
• Basic Search System Anatomy
• Choosing What to Search
• Search Algorithms
• Presenting Results
• Designing the Search Interface

3
Does your site need search?

• Think twice before you make your site
  searchable
• WHY?
• Dont assume that a search engine will solve all
  of your problems, they could create more
• Does your site have enough content?
• There is no formula, but.
• 7 x 7 49 x 7 343 x 7 2401 --- easily
  needs it
• ( 7 / - 2 ) times 3 levels
• The more your site is referencial the more it
  needs search
• Will investing in search systems take away from
  navigation systems
• Search systems perform better when based upon
  strong navigation systems

4
Does your site need search?

• Do you have the time and know-how to optimize
  your sites search systems?
• If you dont plan on putting significant time
  into your search engine (or your client doesnt)
  then reconsider using one
• Are there better alternatives? (note)
• Will your sites users bother to use a search
  capacity?
• Remember that there are all TYPES of users and
  you really need to know your audience first, most
  websites grow organically

5
Does your site need search?

• Search helps when you have too much information
  to browse
• http//www.powells.com (note)
• Search helps fragmented sites
• Search should be there because users expect it
• Search can tame dynamism
• If your content is highly dynamic (such as an
  online newspaper) --- you cant manually catalog
  content so automating is a necessity

6
Basic Search System Anatomy

• There are two variants of search systems
• In Version 1--- Users express their information
  need as a query into a search interface queries
  are then matched against an INDEX
• Version 2

7
Jared Spool vs. Peter Morville

• Jared Spool loves to slander search
• He says that all websites should focus on
  browsing, not search
• And he supports his stance by 3 million worth of
  user research data

8
Jared Spool vs. Peter Morville

• Peter Morvilles answer to him is,
• No, no, no!
• His quarrel is not with Jareds results BUT with
  his conclusions
• Its true that users FAIL in trying to find what
  they are looking for within a SEARCH, but drawing
  conclusions like this is like eating a frozen egg
  roll and declaring all Chinese food is bad
• Basically, Morville feels Search can be a good
  thing as long as it is administered with care
• But to encourage taxonomy (better browsing
  ability) in lieu of search system design is a bad
  message to be sending developers

9
Browse vs. Search

• Investing in taxonomy
• In the past, many organizations have heavily
  invested in taxonomy design (browsing) while
  giving no thought to search system development
• WHY?
• Because taxonomy design was the rage and BECAUSE
  many developers cannot understand HOW search can
  be improved
• WHY?
• Because often search is owned by the IT
  function, not the design function

• Search is Essential
• According to Morville, search is a matter of size
• Small sites dont need it
• Big ones do
• To that end, taxonomy design can only do so much
• Any hierarchy is ultimately subjected to the
  depth/breadth tradeoff (7/- 2)

10
Search is a system

• Does your site have ROT?
• Redundant, Outdated or Trivial Content
• Search results will suffer if that is true
  because relevant content will suffer due to
  inappropriate algorithm results

11
Search is Multifarious

• By matching search interface design with faceted
  classification, we can support parametric
  searching
• By studying search logs and identifying business
  priorities, we can feature best bets in our
  results display.
• By developing controlled vocabularies, we can
  manage the synonym problem.
• By combining natural language parsing and
  human-created knowledge bases er can provide
  interactive agents. (staple remover stapler
  remover)
• By tracking link references or user behavior we
  can tap into the adaptive power of collaborative
  filtering.
• By leveraging category structures, we can provide
  results in context.
• These are just some of the possible ways to
  begin to implement better search techniques. (See
  online handout on my website Optimizing Search
  in Results)

12
Search Sucks

• But not in a bad way!
• Search actually sucks a tremendous amount of
  data into your organization about WHAT YOUR USERS
  ARE LOOKING FOR, so dont skimp on cataloguing
  that opportunity with a good intake software
  program and search log
• Not only is it important to know what your users
  want, but just as important is HOW THEY DESCRIBE
  IT
• Web developers have been using this data for
  years to help define taxonomies, controlled
  vocabularies and best bets.