To read this content please select one of the options below:

An empirical analysis of search engines’ response to web search queries associated with the classroom setting

Oghenemaro Anuyah (People and Information Research Team, Department of Computer Science, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA)
Ashlee Milton (People and Information Research Team, Department of Computer Science, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA)
Michael Green (People and Information Research Team, Department of Computer Science, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA)
Maria Soledad Pera (People and Information Research Team, Department of Computer Science, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA)

Aslib Journal of Information Management

ISSN: 2050-3806

Article publication date: 8 January 2020

Issue publication date: 8 January 2020

959

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine strengths and limitations that search engines (SEs) exhibit when responding to web search queries associated with the grade school curriculum

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a simulation-based experimental approach to conduct an in-depth empirical examination of SEs and used web search queries that capture information needs in different search scenarios.

Findings

Outcomes from this study highlight that child-oriented SEs are more effective than traditional ones when filtering inappropriate resources, but often fail to retrieve educational materials. All SEs examined offered resources at reading levels higher than that of the target audience and often prioritized resources with popular top-level domain (e.g. “.com”).

Practical implications

Findings have implications for human intervention, search literacy in schools, and the enhancement of existing SEs. Results shed light on the impact on children’s education that result from introducing misconception about SEs when these tools either retrieve no results or offer irrelevant resources, in response to web search queries pertinent to the grade school curriculum.

Originality/value

The authors examined child-oriented and popular SEs retrieval of resources aligning with task objectives and user capabilities–resources that match user reading skills, do not contain hate-speech and sexually-explicit content, are non-opinionated, and are curriculum-relevant. Findings identified limitations of existing SEs (both directly or indirectly supporting young users) and demonstrate the need to improve SE filtering and ranking algorithms.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research work has been supported by the National Science Foundation with Award No. 1565937. The authors also want to thank the students who took part in this study.

Citation

Anuyah, O., Milton, A., Green, M. and Pera, M.S. (2020), "An empirical analysis of search engines’ response to web search queries associated with the classroom setting", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 72 No. 1, pp. 88-111. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-06-2019-0143

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles