Real People Don't Do Boolean: How To Teach End Users To Find High-Quality Information on the Internet.
Rita Vine · Information outlook · 2001
After you read this article, sneak into an internet training class and watch people learn Boolean features of search engines. Watch learners discover how to combine words and phrases in complex constructions. They will test their newfound skills against a variety of business problems, like manulife AND (ipo OR initial public offering OR demutualization). They will relish their newfound skills in taming search engines. They will thank the instructor profusely at the end of the session for teaching them such useful techniques. And then they will leave the class, go home, and when they use the web again in a couple of days they will revert back to the plug-in-the-keyword approach. Many information professionals think that the advanced search techniques that they regularly use-like Boolean searching-can be understood and assimilated by end users. Although a small minority of tech-savvy, analytically inclined users may incorporate Boolean searching into their web search, most won't. They didn't change their search behavior because they aren't us. They don't think like information professionals and they shouldn't have to. They have their own jobs and lives that are complex enough.