Google Web Search Research Articles

Ranking Boards of Directors

We propose ranking the importance (centrality) of boards of directors using a variant of the PageRank algorithm from computational graph theory. PageRank is at the heart of the immensely successful Google web search engine and, we argue, can be naturally extended to social network settings. Using tools from graph theory, we represent the board of directors as an undirected bipartite graph. Since PageRank operates on directed graphs we develop a procedure to pass from an undirected bipartite graph to appropriately weighted, directed projections. Finally, to illustrate the procedure we present preliminary rankings of publicly traded US and UK firms using this method. Our procedure provides a quick and efficient way to rank the importance of corporate boards.

Is Google enough? Comparison of an internet search engine with academic library resources

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to compare an internet search engine, Google, with appropriate library databases and systems, in order to assess the relative value, strengths and weaknesses of the two sorts of system.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was used, with detailed analysis and failure checking of results. The performance of the two systems was assessed in terms of coverage, unique records, precision, and quality and accessibility of results. A novel form of relevance assessment, based on the work of Saracevic and others was devised.FindingsGoogle is superior for coverage and accessibility. Library systems are superior for quality of results. Precision is similar for both systems. Good coverage requires use of both, as both have many unique items. Improving the skills of the searcher is likely to give better results from the library systems, but not from Google.Research limitations/implicationsOnly four case studies were included. These were limited to the kind of queries likely to be searched by university students. Library resources were limited to those in two UK academic libraries. Only the basic Google web search functionality was used, and only the top ten records examined.Practical implicationsThe results offer guidance for those providing support and training for use of these retrieval systems, and also provide evidence for debates on the “Google phenomenon”.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies which provide evidence on the relative performance of internet search engines and library databases, and the only one to conduct such in‐depth case studies. The method for the assessment of relevance is novel.

Creating the ultimate research assistant

Looks at the custom tool developed by the author that leverages the Google Web search API (or a similar search service) to discover a list of Web pages matching a given topic; identify and extract trends and patterns from these Web pages' text; and transform those trends and patterns into an understandable, useful, and well-organized information resource. The tool accomplishes these tasks using four main components. First, a search engine client discovers a list of relevant Web pages using the Google Web search API. An information extraction engine then mines concepts and associated text passages from these Web pages. Next, a clustering engine organizes the most significant concepts into a hierarchical taxonomy. Finally, a knowledge base generator uses this taxonomy to generate a hypertext knowledge base from the extracted concepts and text passages.

Optimising Publications for Google Users

Librarians should think explicitly about Google users whenever they publish on the Web, and should update their policies and procedures accordingly. The article describes procedures that libraries can adopt to ensure that their publications are optimised for access by users of Google and other Web search engines. The aim of these procedures is to enhance resource discovery and information retrieval, and to enhance the reputation of libraries as valued custodians of published information, as well as exemplars of good practice in information management.

PageRank and Interaction Information Retrieval

AbstractThe PageRank method is used by the Google Web search engine to compute the importance of Web pages. Two different views have been developed for the interpretation of the PageRank method and values: (a) stochastic (random surfer): the PageRank values can be conceived as the steady‐state distribution of a Markov chain, and (b) algebraic: the PageRank values form the eigenvector corresponding to eigenvalue 1 of the Web link matrix. The Interaction Information Retrieval (I2R) method is a nonclassical information retrieval paradigm, which represents a connectionist approach based on dynamic systems. In the present paper, a different interpretation of PageRank is proposed, namely, a dynamic systems viewpoint, by showing that the PageRank method can be formally interpreted as a particular case of the Interaction Information Retrieval method; and thus, the PageRank values may be interpreted as neutral equilibrium points of the Web.

Broccoli Librarianship and Google-Bred Patrons, or What's Wrong with Usability Testing?

Library Web site usability testing has become justifiably commonplace; with minimal effort, this kind of assessment can detect design-related problems that are often easily corrected. Yet, extensive limitations of usability testing compromise the value of results. Rather than reflecting patrons' actual library Web site usage patterns, the testing instrument reflects librarians' interpretation of “good” library Web site usage, or “broccoli librarianship.” Furthermore, usability testing instruments in general are biased toward ease of use instead of usefulness, a key distinction in the library sector. Moreover, participants accustomed to Google and other Web search engines tend to weigh results in favor of simplicity and ease of use rather than usefulness. Unfamiliarity with library terminology and limited research skills can also undermine the reliability of usability testing. Effective usability testing requires that participants possess a basic understanding of scholarly research, library language, and the functions of a library Web site. In addition, testing instruments should be carefully constructed to account for usefulness, not just ease of use. Unless these conditions are met, usability testing will be misleading, ineffectual, and counterproductive.

The New Flexible Health Plans

The New Flexible Health Plans

Web search for a planet: the google cluster architecture

Amenable to extensive parallelization, Google's web search application lets different queries run on different processors and, by partitioning the overall index, also lets a single query use multiple processors. to handle this workload, Googless architecture features clusters of more than 15,000 commodity-class PCs with fault tolerant software. This architecture achieves superior performance at a fraction of the cost of a system built from fewer, but more expensive, high-end servers.