Dialog Techniques: Search Analysis: Why Searches Fail

The Goals in Searching:

Precision	The records resulting from your search are right on target. There are few superfluous or irrelevant records.
Recall	The records resulting from your search include, hopefully, all of the relevant records. Hopefully, there are few superfluous or irrelevant records.

Unfortunately,

• There can be several reasons why you many not be satisfied with the results of your search. These include:
  • Zero Records
  • The Records are not on the subject.
  • So many Records that it is difficult to find the relevant ones.
• When such situations arise, one should analyze the records (if any) that have resulted versus the search strategy and techniques that were used.

Causes of Poor Search Results

• Situation: The Records resulting from the search are not on the subject:
  • Selection of the wrong database(s) to search.
  • Selection of the wrong field (indexes) to search
  • Search terms (concepts) are:
    • Not appropriate
    • Too broad
    • Too vague
    • Have multiple meanings
  • Errors in input were made. These may include:
    • Spelling errors
    • Errors in the use of various symbols and special characters.
  • Erroneous use of Boolean and other operators.
  • Use of Truncation in a manner that produces too many search terms.
  • Insufficient use of multiple search terms (concepts) to narrow a search.
  • Selection of inappropriate Sets for combination into successive searches.
    
• Situation: Zero Records resulting from the search:
  • Selection of the wrong database(s) to search.
  • Selection of the wrong field (indexes) to search
  • Search terms are:
    • Not appropriate
    • Too narrow
    • Too vague
    • Too many, resulting in too narrow a result.
    • Have multiple meanings
  • Errors in input were made. These may include:
    • Spelling errors
    • Errors in the use of various symbols and special characters.
  • Erroneous use of Boolean and other operators.
  • Use of Truncation in a manner that produces too many, largely irrelevant, search terms.
  • Not appropriate
  • Too broad
  • Too vague
  • Have multiple meanings
• Errors in input were made. These may include:
  • Spelling errors
  • Errors in the use of various symbols and special characters.
• Erroneous use of Boolean and other operators, particularly or.
• Use of Truncation in a manner that produces too many search terms.
• Insufficient use of multiple search terms (concepts) to narrow a search.
• Selection of inappropriate Sets for combination into successive searches.

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