W17h: Search Engine Research

Assignment Module W17h

Search Engine Research

Contents

Overview
Crawlers

Comparing engines
User Interfaces
Submitting the assignment

Overview

In this assignment you will be doing research to learn the current state of crawlers, user interfaces, and search engines in general. This will give you some places to start, but you'll also be using the search engines to discover good sources of your own.

Note: Since this is a research report, all material quoted directly from other source (Web sites, books, periodicals...) must be either put in "quotes" or indented using the <blockquote> tag. Create either a link or a bibliography entry for each source of information you actually use.
In addition, each question should have a list of the sources from which you actually got information.

Getting Started

You will need to prepare a Web page for this assignment. You may use any software you like to do this. The page will be placed on your WCC Web server space.

[Many of the questions have "Suggested length of answers". These are included as a guideline, to give you some idea about the amount of detail expected. The Suggested length of answers are hints, not meant to limit you in any way.]

Part 1: Comparing Engines

Not all search engines are created equal, and none succeed if they remain the same for long. In this part, you'll be investigating resources that help you compare search engines and view the trends over time.

Resources to get you started

Internet Public Library: http://ipl.si.umich.edu/div/websearching/
Open Directory Project's Search Engines: http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Search_Engines/
"Major Search Engines and Directories" edited by Danny Sullivan, principal of Search Engine Watch: http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156221
How Search Engines work: http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2168031
How much each search engine has indexed:

Search Engine market share

http://www.useit.com/about/searchreferrals.html

Reviews of Search Engines:

Questions

Which search engine now has the greatest number of pages indexed? Which had the greatest number in 1995, 1998, and 2000?
Which three search engines have the largest market share - that is, the largest number of users? Which three had the largest share in 1995, 1998, and 2000?
Discuss the differences between crawler-based and human edited search engines: the process of getting information into the database, advantages and disadvantages of each. [Suggested length of answer: About one screen of normal-size type]

Part 2: User Interfaces

The popularity of a search engine is affected not only by the size of its database, but also on the effectiveness of the user interface (UI). In this part, you'll be comparing the user interfaces of three different search services by giving each of them a couple of tasks and comparing the quality of the results and how they are displayed. Read the questions before you do the activity, and take notes to help you answer them.

Questions

Activities

Evaluate hits returned by the three different search engines you used:
1. Number of hits (as well as you can determine them) for each engine;
2. Discuss the relevance of the top 10 hits to the specific questions
  [Suggested length of answer: About half a screen of normal-size type]
Evaluate display methods for each of the three search engines you used. Consider:
1. Clarity: how easy was it to find the information you were looking for?
2. Ranking or grouping: were the hits arranged in a helpful order?
3. Information presented: did the UI present enough information about each hit? Was it helpful in deciding which hits were relevant? [Suggested length of answer: About one screen of normal-size type]

Choose any three Web search services and submit queries on these two topics. In order to compare the search engines, use the same search words for each. Write down the search words you used and include them in your report.

Does chocolate fight tooth decay? If true, how does it work? What parts of the cocoa bean are involved?
The Association for Women in Computing has an annual award. What is it called, and who was given the award in 2004? What was the award given for?

Note: do not write a report about these topics!
Use the queries to answer the questions on the left.

Part 3: Marketing via Search Engines

A Web site doesn't do much good if people don't come to visit it. Since search engines are one of the primary ways people find Web sites, one of the best ways to get people to visit a site is to make sure it's prominently displayed in the leading search engines. There are a number of ways to do this, some free and some involving payment. In this part of the assignment, you'll be invgestigating ways to use search engines for "site marketing".

Resources to Start With

Web Search Workshop: http://www.websearchworkshop.co.uk/

Questions

Put answers to these questions on your Web page for this assignment.

Choose any two of the general-purpose search engines with a large market share (use your answer to Part 1 Question B); and choose any one meta-search engine. Go to the Web site of each of these search engines and look for a link like "advertise" or "submit your site". Use the information you find to investigate the options available for those who want to give their sites more prominence. What are some of the payment options...monthly or annual fees? ...payment per "hit"? ...some other arrangement? How much does each cost?
There are a number of free options for Web designers who want to increase the prominence of their sites in search engines. List at least two of these, explaining (in general) how to use them, and what their relative effectiveness seems to be.

Submitting the Assignment

When you're done, double-check that the assignment meets the specifications above, and that all links are functional.

Upload to your work to your WCC student Website, and send email to the instructor with the URI. Be sure your email meets the formal requirements: name, class, section and exercise (W17h), and that it follows standard business-email practice.

About This Document
Audience	This exercise is for people who are familiar with Web search engines (see module W17c) and want greater depth of knowledge about Web crawlers, user interfaces, and differences between browsers.
Objectives	On successful completion of this module, you will be able to: Evaluate hits returned by three different browsers Discuss the differences between crawler-based and human edited search engines Discover and report on the effectiveness of methods for blocking crawlers Evaluate display methods among three well-known browsers Find and report which search engine now has the largest amount indexed Discuss the effect crawler have on Websites and the Web
Module W17h: Search Engine Research	This document is part of a modular instruction series in Computer Instruction. For more information, see the overview or the list of modules in this series, W: World Wide Web. This document has been used in the following classes: INP 160 .
History:	Original: 17 October 2003; revised (v.2) November 2004 Last modification: Monday, 31-Aug-2009 11:48:05 EDT
Copyright	Copyright © 2003, 2005, Laurence J. Krieg, Washtenaw Community College Instructors: You may point to this file in your Web-based materials; however, its location may change without notice. Students: You are welcome to make a copy for your personal use. All other uses: Please contact the author, Laurence J. Krieg, for permission: krieg@ieee.org.