[EAS]Web Search Quality

[pjk]

Subject:   Web Search Quality

(from NewsScan Daily, 31 January 2003)

NET USERS VALUE WEB AS INFO SOURCE, QUESTION CREDIBILITY
Internet users increasingly view the Web as an important source of 
information, although at the same time they're more likely to
question the  validity of that information, according to the UCLA
Internet Report. The  report also found that users watched 5.4 fewer
hours of TV per week in  2002, presumably to make time for more Web
surfing. "The real growth we  think in the Internet and the
perception of it now is as a place you go to  find things out. The
Internet has made very few inroads as a place you go  to be
entertained," says Jeff Cole, director of the UCLA Center for 
Communication Policy, which conducted the survey. Of the 71% of
Americans  who use the Net, 61% characterized it as "very important"
or "extremely  important," compared with 58% for newspapers, 50% for
TV and 40% for radio.  But at the same time, only 53% of Internet
users thought all or most of the  information online was credible,
down from 58% in 2001. "What we're  finding, and what's reflected in
this year's data, is that people are  starting to get a little
skeptical," says Cole. "I think it shows people  are getting smarter
or will get smarter." (Reuters/CNet 31 Jan 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-982882.html?tag=fd_top

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> "What we're  finding, and what's reflected in this year's data, is
> that people are  starting to get a little skeptical," says Cole. "I
> think it shows people  are getting smarter or will get smarter."

Seems a non-sequitur, though just watching less TV will help. With the
ability to restrict searches to .edu and .gov sites, e.g. via
<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en>, and to simply impose
other restrictions, there is little need to waste time with stuff that
needs a lot of skeptical sorting out. I know _you_ don't have that
problem, but if you have a friend who needs help, for a start point
them to starter tutorials like
<http://sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html>.
See also
<http://jove.eng.yale.edu/pipermail/eas-info/2001/000283.html>.

Happy searching,  --PJK