Alexandra Dimitroff

The impact of webpage content characteristics on webpage visibility in search engine results (part I)

Content characteristics of a webpage include factors such as keyword position in a webpage, keyword duplication, layout, and their combination. These factors may impact webpage visibility in a search engine. Four hypotheses are presented relating to the impact of selected content characteristics on webpage visibility in search engine results lists. Webpage visibility can be improved by increasing the frequency of keywords in the title, in the full-text and in both the title and full-text.

The impact of metadata implementation on webpage visibility in search engine results (part II)

This paper discusses the impact of metadata implementation in a webpage on its visibility performance in a search engine results list. Influential internal and external factors of metadata implementation were identified. How these factors affect webpage visibility in a search engine results list was examined in an experimental study. Findings suggest that metadata is a good mechanism to improve webpage visibility, the metadata subject field plays a more important role than any other metadata field and keywords extracted from the webpage itself, particularly title or full-text, are most effective. To maximize the effects, these keywords should come from both title and full-text.

Searcher response in a hypertext-based bibliographic information retrieval system

This article examines searcher behavior and affective response to a hypertext‐based bibliographic information retrieval system called HyperLynx for searchers with different search skills and backgrounds. Search times and number of nodes visited were recorded for five specified search queries, and views of the system were recorded for each searcher. No significant differences were found in search times our user satisfaction with the system, indicating that a hypertext‐based approach to bibliographic retrieval could be approapriate for a variety of searcher experience levels.

Internet search engines' response to metadata Dublin Core implementation

The research described here examined performance of major search engines with regard to two groups of web pages: those with metadata and those without metadata. Introduction of metadata Dublin Core, especially the Subject element, should improve retrievability of a web page and, subsequently, its visibility. The visibility of a web page in a search engine results list is defined and used in this study to measure retrievability performance of major search engines. Results show there are significant differences among these two groups in most search engines. The reasons for the differences are analyzed.

Hypertext vs boolean-based searching in a bibliographic database environment: a direct comparison of seacher performance

The purpose of this study is to carry out a direct comparison of a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system with a traditional Boolean-based retrieval system, each using the same database. Novice and experienced searchers were assigned to either a prototype hypertext system called HyperLynx or to a traditional Boolean system and were asked to perform a set of search tasks. The study revealed that the Boolean system performed better than the hypertext system for search tasks with a large number of relevant items. Searcher experience level did not play a significant role for either system. Findings of the study have implications for the design of future information retrieval systems that take advantage of the best features of both approaches for more effective and efficient retrieval of highly structured databases.

Preliminary findings on searcher performance and perceptions of performance in a hypertext bibliographic retrieval system

Hypertext is a relatively new mechanism by which bibliographic searching may be performed. Searcher confidence in using the system and in retrieving relevant items may depend on several factors, such as the time they have taken or the number of record pages they have visited in the database. Confidence in their performance versus their actual performance may serve as an indicator or reality check of the systems utility. This article presents an initial exploration of the relationship between searcher perceptions of their performance and actual searcher perceptions of their performance and actual search performance using two variants of a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system

Affective response and retrieval performance: Analysis of contributing factors☆

The authors investigated the affective response of 83 subjects to two versions of a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system. Randomly assigned to one of two systems, one with inter-record linkages to authors and descriptors and one which also linked title and abstract keywords, subjects were asked about their affective response to their search experience. The data were analyzed using factor analysis; two factors (maneuverability and perceptions) were identified for the basic system and three factors (maneuverability, usability, and novelty) were identified for the enhanced system. The complex relationship between system and user was sometimes contradictory, with subjects finding the systems to be usable or unusable in different ways.

The effect of linkage structure on retrieval performance in a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system

The authors investigated how linkage environments in a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system affect retrieval performance for novice and experienced searchers. Two systems, one with inter-record linkages to authors and descriptors and one that also included title and abstract keywords, were tested. No significant differences in retrieval performance and system usage were found for most search tests. However, the enhanced system did provide better performance where title and abstract keywords provided the most direct access to relevant records. The findings have implications for the design of bibliographic information retrieval systems using hypertext linkages.

A study on health care consumers’ diabetes term usage across identified categories

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate health care consumers’ diabetes term usage patterns based on Yahoo!Answers social question and answers (QA Diagnosis and Test; and Diagnosis and Medication) as well at the term level were analyzed. Findings – The findings show that there are close re...

Situational Virtual Reference: Get Help When You Need It

This study aims to increase the use of virtual reference service by increasing the awareness of the availability of the service to users who really need it. A new situationally-based virtual reference interface, called the sVR interface, has been designed to reflect different levels of user search success. Findings from an eight-month field study done in a university library improved our understanding of how to effectively enhance the availability of virtual reference service to users who need it. A discussion about balancing the availability and the intrusiveness of virtual reference service is also provided.