Comparison between database search and internet search engines.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
by:nove anna (April 18, 2007)
Introduction
The information technology enhances triggers community to produce and spread information vastly. Internet is one of new technology that becomes very important to spread the information. Million of people can put any information (data, news, research paper, advertising, and even junk information) through the internet, and people from a whole world can access it. Now people are live in the information overload age, people need time to determine whether information is accurate or not. Some people feel stress with the information overload and they hardly found the information that they want. For instance if typing brain tumours in Yahoo search engine, the result is 866.000 entries and much more entries from Google search 2.280.000, and 3674 entries from Proquest Health and Medical database.
To solve the information overload problem is by using the search strategies. Use the right key words and anticipate the different word term that used by different search engine, such as Google prefer use word tumor rather than tumour, use the appropriate truncation symbols, and the most important thing is understand what information that we are looking for. When start searching try to make the key words as specific rather than in general. If the key word is specific the searching result is limited, so it’s easily to found the right article / information.
The purpose of this report is to help BITS found their right information effectively. Another purpose is to help them to understand the searching process and understanding about the search strategies. This report uses a topic as an example which is Whether mobile phones create human brain tumours. This topic is being chosen because it’s still become controversial topic in the telecommunication technology and medical field. According to Nielsen/NetRating in http://www.dcita.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/
40415/IE_INDEX_2006.pdf
80% of Australia’s population over the age 16 use a mobile phone, both Italy and Sweden become the larger mobile phone user with 84%. The significant increase of mobile phone user is interesting because many scientists doing some research and study about relationship mobile phone and brain tumour.
Discussion
Form 1. Database searching: Proquest & MEDLINE
Search strategies
In the first form, database is being use to search the article about whether mobile phone cause humans brain tumour. For database searching I use Monash library online resource. The first step is by using library database. After opening database page, we determine what the subject that we want to. There are two ways to determine the database subject, first we can go directly to the subject index that been arranged alphabetically, in this topic I chose health sciences subject. The other method is by wrote the subject in the search box, I type health as my subject in the box. On health sciences subject there are six key resources database and 53 support databases. However, through typing health in the search box found 110 databases alphabetically structured. First method is more effective because we are recommended to look at the key databases and then additional databases if we need other information. Usually the recommended key database is the most match database with the subject, so we can start to search the article through those databases. On the second method, there are no priorities which database is the most important because the result is in alphabetical order, for who don’t have experience in health or medicine database this will bring difficulty to determine which one is the best database to help found the right articles. People only speculate and maybe use the first top database because they confuse. So the best is use the first method while determine the database subject rather than by type the database subject.
The databases that been used here are MEDLINE, and Proquest health & medical complete. I chose those databases because it’s recommended by database search engine and well known in health science area. The key words to search the article is mobile phone and brain tumours, the word mobile phone also called cellular phone, tumour or tumor, the use different term is to expand the result. There are many results about the effect of mobile phone on human’s brain tumour in different formats such as pdf, html, or xml, and the article types in the database could be the research article, case study, feature, news, or review article. Even though there are so many entries found but it’s not easy to pick the right one since the article requirement should at least have ten pages or 4000 words. The use of advance search is helping to limited the result. In this case I type mobile/cellular phone AND brain tumours/tumor that should be appear in the title and the format is pdf. This method is quite effective because we only read the title that contains the key words, and if the title matches then we can read the abstract of the article and decide whether that article is important or not.
The Search Result
There are still controversial issues whether mobile phone cause human brain tumor or not. Mobile phone firstly used in Sweden in the late of 80s ( Lennart Hardell et al., 2005). And by early 2000 the number of mobile user is around 500 million world wide (Peter D Inskip et al., 2001). There are two types of mobile phone that widely used in the world, analog (Nordic Mobile Telephone), and digital (Global System for Mobile Communication). Recently analog is rarely used.
Many researchers assume that the radiofrequency radiation when use mobile phone can increase risk in brain tumour. The cumulative of mobile use, the mobile use duration, the position of mobile, the use of ear, and the type of handset also become a consideration of triggering brain tumour. Some researches are held to proof that mobile phone has relation with brain tumour or not.
Research that involving people who diagnosed with tumour such as glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, malignant brain tumour. The research is held in the US, Sweden, and UK with various different respondent. The research method is use case-control. Case is respondent who diagnosed with brain tumour, however control is the people who selected randomly. Both case and control are interviewed or given questionnaire. The interview questions are vary such as when the first time and last time use mobile phone, how long the average use everyday, the cumulative use every week, what the brand of the mobile that they use, what the position of mobile, what ear that they use, how they held the handset, how many times they change the mobile.
The research conduct on 1994-1998 in the US by Inskip et al conclude that there was little or no indication of increase risk of glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma associated with any use or cumulative use of mobile. He added both people who ever having use and regular use has no significant associated with the relative with glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma. This invention is supported by Sarah J Hepworth et al. that conduct research in the UK in 2000-2003. This research also put emphasis on relation the use of mobile phone with glioma in adults. She proof that there is no association between risk of glioma and the use of analog mobile phone. Another supporter is Stefan Lonn et al. who doing research in Sweden in 2000-2002. He also didn’t found any proof that mobile phone related to risk of brain tumour.
On the other hand, Hardell et al. believed that the use of digital and cordless phone increased risk of malignant brain tumour, and the use of comabination of analog and digital phone more increased risk of brain tumour. This result was conclude after they conduct a research during 2000-2003 in Sweden. (Hardell et al., 2005)
Form 2. web searching: Yahoo & Google
Search strategies
I use both Yahoo and Google search engine to do web searching. There are two methods while searching use web search engine. First, use basic search that can be found in www.yahoo.com or www.google.com and second, use the advance search yahoo with http://search.yahoo.com/web/advanced?ei=UTF-8 and Google http://www.google.com.au/advanced_search?hl=en and Google scholar as well in www.scholar.google.com . In this case I only use Google basic search by typing mobile phone and brain tumor (rather than tumour). The results are 534.000 titles that contain the key words. Then just doing a quick scanning the entry titles and open the page if the title match with what we looking for. Sometimes those pages refer to a free journal article and sometimes we should pay. While using Yahoo search I also use basic search because it’s easier and we can just put any key words. I use the same key words with Google search, and the result is 463.000 entry titles. Yahoo accept both tumour and tumor term, Google will produce more entries when we use cellular phone rather than mobile phone (1.030.000), while Yahoo produce less entries when use cellular phone (326.000). There is no the same article in the first page in Yahoo and Google. The problem occur similar to database searching when fulfill the articles requirement (10 pages or at least 4.000 words).
The Search Result
The articles found from internet search engine are Tumour risk associated with use of cellular telephones or cordless desktop telephones by Lennart Hardell et al., this research article also use case-control study to prove that mobile phone has relation with brain tumour. In his research result Hardell believed that use of cellular and cordless increased risk for brain tumours, manly acoustic neuroma and malignant brain tumour. However, there is no consistent of an increased risk that found for salivary gland tumours. (Hardell et al., 2006)
Another article Mobile phone use and cancer by M Kundi talk about the exposure of microwave radiation effect to the human brain. He also assess the previous research about associated the use of mobile phone with human brain tumor. Furthermore he added that only four of nine studies found evidence of increased risk, while the other five failed. Kundi also criticize that the duration of mobile phone use is too short and lack of proper assessment in most studies. Most of studies use case-control studies method. He conclude that the use of mobile phone that exposure microwaves near the head for a long term may effect and increase risk of cancer. (Kundi, 2004)
The other two articles Cellular telephone use and brain tumors (Peter D Inskip et al., 2001) and Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in adults: case-control study (Sarah J Hepworth et al., 2006) are the same with article that found in database. So it not will discuss here.
Comparison: Web Search VS Database Search
• Searching strategy through web search is easier rather than database search. This is because the web search engine gives absolute freedom for the user to use any keywords. We don’t need to be afraid to make mistake typing the wrong keywords.
• Web search engine gives so many entries, so we can choose it. Web search engine is not that bad. Some people argue that source from web search engine is less credible than database search. Two of four articles from web search are the same with database search.
• The article quality is quite similar.
• In web search engine offer one search box for any subject, however database search contain many subject that sometimes make user confuse to choose where the appropriate database is.
• Not every entry in database is long article, very short article or even news is usually found.
• It’s easy found the latest factual information through web search rather than database.
Conclusion
The use of right keywords is the key success while search an article. Doesn’t matter use web or database search. Even though web search is more tolerant than database, but if you type the right keywords it will help to found article more quickly. Topic interpretation also important while searching. In web search, don’t only open the first and second page of entries, but also open the 3rd, 4th, or 5th, because every web site owner want to put their site in the 1st page of search result even its not relevant, so sometimes when we open 1st page of entries and feel didn’t match at all just try the next page.
Use trial and error searching method, don’t be afraid to type different keyword and see what happen. Sometimes through trial and error we found the unpredictable article. This method is the best way in search strategies.
References:
Hepworth, S.J. et al., (2006). Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in adults: case- control study. BMJ. Retrieved April 9, 2007 from World Wide Web
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/332/7546/
883?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=
&fulltext=hepworth&
searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT
Hepworth, S.J.et al., (2006). Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in adults: case –control study. BMJ. 332(7546):883-7
Herdell, L. et al., (2006). Tumour risk associated with use of celluar telephones or cordless desktop telephones. World Journal of Surgical Oncology. Retrieved April 9, 2007 from World Wide Web
http://www.wjso.com/content/4/1/74
Herdell, L. et al., (2006). Case-control study of the association between the use of cellular and cordless telephones and malignant brain tumors diagnosed during 2000-2003. Environmental Research. 100(2):232-41
http://www.dcita.gov.au/__data/
assets/pdf_file/40415/IE_INDEX_2006.pdf
Inskip, P.D. et al., (2001). Cellular telephone use and brain tumors. The New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved April 9, 2007 from World Wide Web http://nejm.org
Inskip, P.D. et al., (2001). Cellular-telephone use and brain tumors. The New England Journal. 344(2):79-86
Johanson, G. (2007). Controlled vocabulary and thesauri. Lecture 4 IMS5016
Kundi, M. (2004). Mobile phone use and cancer. Occup Environ Med. Retrieved April 9, 2007 from World Wide Web
http://www.innenraumanalytik.at/
pdfs/kundi_cancer.pdf
Lonn, S. et al., (2005). Long-term mobile phone use and brain tumor risk. American Journal of Epidemiology. 161(6):526-35
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Labels: information retrieval
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