[Sigia-l] References for search quotes

[Christina Wodtke]

> > 1. The average number of terms people enter into a search
> > field is x

nice one mags...
http://www.currybet.net/articles/day_in_the_life/5.shtml
"I found that 36% of searches consisted of just one word and 35% of searches
used just two words. This is a vital point. Given the opportunity of
searching over the whole of the BBC site, or indeed the whole of the web,
the user's understanding or trust of search technology is such that they
believe that a limited one or two word search term will achieve their goals.
When we consider that the quantity of documents indexed for websearch is
counted in the thousands of millions, this is a formidable task. "

think about what this means. people type in "cars" or if you are lucky
"Acura" Now what should a search engine do? the first result is supposed to
be the right one. what could the right result for "cars"?

I think there is no harder challenge for an information professional than
search.