Web searcher interaction with the Dogpile.com metasearch engine

Metasearch engines are an intuitive method for improving the performance of Web search by increasing coverage, returning large numbers of results with a focus on relevance, and presenting alternative views of information needs. However, the use of metasearch engines in an operational environment is not well understood. In this study, we investigate the usage of Dogpile.com, a major Web metasearch engine, with the aim of discovering how Web searchers interact with metasearch engines. We report results examining 2,465,145 interactions from 534,507 users of Dogpile.com on May 6, 2005 and compare these results with findings from other Web searching studies. We collect data on geographical location of searchers, use of system feedback, content selection, sessions, queries, and term usage. Findings show that Dogpile.com searchers are mainly from the USA (84% of searchers), use about 3 terms per query (mean = 2.85), implement system feedback moderately (8.4% of users), and generally (56% of users) spend less than one minute interacting with the Web search engine. Overall, metasearchers seem to have higher degrees of interaction than searchers on non-metasearch engines, but their sessions are for a shorter period of time. These aspects of metasearching may be what define the differences from other forms of Web searching. We discuss the implications of our findings in relation to metasearch for Web searchers, search engines, and content providers.

Les portails de bibliothèque: Nouvelles fonctionnalités, nouveaux défis

Les auteurs présentent un survol des logiciels de portails de bibliothèque. La notion de portail de bibliothèque est d’abord définie, puis les principales fonctionnalités de ce type de produit (métarecherche, personnalisation, authentification) sont présentées et expliquées. Un aperçu du marché des logiciels de portail est ensuite donné. Des questions reliées à la fiabilité des résultats et à la formation des utilisateurs sont également soulevées. // The authors present a brief review of software for library portals. The concept of library portals is defined and their main functionalities subsequently presented and explained (meta search engines, personalization, authentication). A general survey of the market for portal software is given before addressing certain questions about the reliability of their results and user training.