Evaluation of web search for the information practitioner
Alan Macfarlane · Aslib Journal of Information Management · 2007
Purpose The aim of the paper is to put forward a structured mechanism for web search evaluation. The paper seeks to point to useful scientific research and show how information practitioners can use these methods in evaluation of search on the web for their users. Design/methodology/approach The paper puts forward an approach which utilizes traditional laboratory‐based evaluation measures such as average precision/precision atNdocuments, augmented with diagnostic measures such as link broken, etc., which are used to show why precision measures are depressed as well as the quality of the search engines crawling mechanism. Findings The paper shows how to use diagnostic measures in conjunction with precision in order to evaluate web search. Practical implications The methodology presented in this paper will be useful to any information professional who regularly uses web search as part of their information seeking and needs to evaluate web search services. Originality/value The paper argues that the use of diagnostic measures is essential in web search, as precision measures on their own do not allow a searcher to understand why search results differ between search engines.