[Sigia-l] String search question

[Tanya Rabourn]

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003, David Heller wrote:
<snip>
> In general I'm trying to decide where I can assume google like search
> behavior as a standard to build upon and where I have to use windows
> explorer find as a standard.
>
> Andrew is right that there just aren't any conventions other than the
> ubiquity of OS and google to stand upon.

I think in building search functionality there's no substitute
for identifying your user group and the search engine(s) they use
most often. Since there is no standard, isolating the features
they are accustomed to (and currently use) will give you a clue
as to what their expectations are. I would bet that if you
present a group of lawyers accustomed to searching Lexis Nexus a
single line text-box and a group of high school teachers
accustomed to searching ERIC, you would get two different sets of
expectations. (Assuming these two indexes use different syntax --
I'm too lazy to double check that.)

-Tanya
___________________________________
Tanya Rabourn <rabourn at columbia.edu>
[User Services Consultant]
AcIS R & D <www.columbia.edu/acis/rad>
tel: 212.854.0295
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