Title:
NorthernLight
Rationale for selection:
After our in-class lab, I decided to use NorthernLight in an attempt
to find web-based resources on my topic. I feel as if my topic is
a popular one (running) and there will be many websites devoted to various
aspects of the sport, including injuries and training tips.
Evaluation of source
Scope/coverage
Size/number of pages indexed: There is no specific number given concerning the number of web-pages indexed.
Types of materials covered: Web pages, and over 6,200 respected full-text publications not otherwise available to Web searchers*
Uniqueness of materials covered: As the above states, the search engine offers a service unavailable anywhere else to the web, allowing web searchers to search over 6200 full-text publications, with the option of retrieving the full-text articles for a fee.*
Authority/source: NorthernLight.com is recognized as the largest Web search engine by many industry experts, and has garnered numerous accolades and awards.*
Current?/recent?: The site does not specify how often materials
are updated, however, I would presume that in keeping with the companies
stated mission (“to index and classify all human knowledge to a unified
consistent standard and make it available to everyone in the world in a
single integrated search”) the resources of the site are updated often.
Indexing/access points (directory vs. search engine): the site is an interesting hybrid, as it combines aspects of a search engine and a directory. With each search, folders are created which “are not preset, one-size-fits-all, like other Web directories, but are unique to each search. Every time you perform a search on Northern Light, we create a series of Custom Search Folders based on your individual search.” In essence, the site creates a custom-directory for each search you perform, combining the flexibility of a search-engine with the easy navigation of a directory.*
Usability/ease of use (navigation, help): The site was very easy to use. Help pages (http://www.northernlight.com/docs/gen_help_where.html) were very useful in aiding a first-time user, and the search process is fairly self-explanatory.
Special features: In addition to the custom-folders created for each search, the site offers a patented classification intelligence and precision relevancy ranking to improve Web searching. This helps the user to weed through unwanted hits, focusing on the results with the most relevancy to the search topic. The custom-folders can be used to further narrow a search to the desired topic. Also, in the Power Search mode, the user can restrict the search to 16 different preset directories. This also helps to limit the search to focus results on the desired topic. The site also offers unique truncation operators, an * which is substituted for the end of the word, and the % which can be substituted within a word. (Example run* for runner, running, run, runs, etc. and gene%logy for geneology, genealogy). Also, the search engine provides the ability to limit results to specific categories of websites, ranging from corporate websites to government websites to job listings. This is a very useful tool to limit a search. Also, there are language, country and date restrictions available to the user. Finally, the user can decide how they want their results sorted, by either date and time or relevancy.
Search strategies
This was the first web-based search I conducted for this project, so
I was not quite sure how to proceed. I began with the same terms
which I have used in my first two searches: running, jogging, results,
effects, health, and medical.
Set 1: searched for “run* OR jog*” This returned 11,362,710
hits, most of which were irrelevant. I decided to limit my search.
Set 2: Limited 1 to the subject-headings “Health & Medicine”
and “Sports & Recreation.” This returned 1,290,196 hits.
Still too many, despite increased relevancy, many of the results still
were not on target.
Set 3: I decided to start over, searching for the term “running”
in the same two subject-headings used in 2. This returned 704,244
hits, most of which were relevant to my desired topic. I browsed
through some of these results and found some excellent sources.
Set 4: I decided to try the custom-folders provided. By
limiting my results to the folder “running” I managed to exclude my two
most promising results. I decided not to use this feature.
Evaluation of results
My Search on NorthernLight was fairly simple. Unlike my searches
in databases, I found it easier to just search for one term, running.
The results I got were extremely useful, and authoritative. One was
created by a Doctor, the other was a well-done corporate site. I
was very pleased with this search, and the NorthernLight engine.
*Information taken from web-site: http://www.northernlight.com/docs/about_company_mission.html