Crossing the academic ocean? Judit Bar-Ilan's oeuvre on search engines studies

[EN] The main objective of this work is to analyse the contributions of Judit Bar-Ilan to the search engines studies. To do this, two complementary approaches have been carried out. First, a systematic literature review of 47 publications authored and co-authored by Judit and devoted to this topic. Second, an interdisciplinarity analysis based on the cited references (publications cited by Judit) and citing documents (publications that cite Judit's work) through Scopus. The systematic literature review unravels an immense amount of search engines studied (43) and indicators measured (especially technical precision, overlap and fluctuation over time). In addition to this, an evolution over the years is detected from descriptive statistical studies towards empirical user studies, with a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. Otherwise, the interdisciplinary analysis evidences that a significant portion of Judit's oeuvre was intellectually founded on the computer sciences, achieving a significant, but not exclusively, impact on library and information sciences.Orduña-Malea, E. (2020). Crossing the academic ocean? Judit Bar-Ilan's oeuvre on search engines studies. Scientometrics. 123(3):1317-1340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03450-4S131713401233Bar-Ilan, J. (1998a). On the overlap, the precision and estimated recall of search engines. A case study of the query “Erdos”. Scientometrics,42(2), 207–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02458356.Bar-Ilan, J. (1998b). The mathematician, Paul Erdos (1913–1996) in the eyes of the Internet. Scientometrics,43(2), 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02458410.Bar-Ilan, J. (2000). The web as an information source on informetrics? A content analysis. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,51(5), 432–443. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-4571(2000)51:5%3C432:aid-asi4%3E3.0.co;2-7.Bar-Ilan, J. (2001). Data collection methods on the web for informetric purposes: A review and analysis. Scientometrics,50(1), 7–32.Bar-Ilan, J. (2002). Methods for measuring search engine performance over time. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,53(4), 308–319. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.10047.Bar-Ilan, J. (2003). Search engine results over time: A case study on search engine stability. Cybermetrics,2/3, 1–16.Bar-Ilan, J. (2005a). Expectations versus reality—Search engine features needed for Web research at mid 2005. Cybermetrics,9, 1–26.Bar-Ilan, J. (2005b). Expectations versus reality—Web search engines at the beginning of 2005. In Proceedings of ISSI 2005: 10th international conference of the international society for scientometrics and informetrics (Vol. 1, pp. 87–96).Bar-Ilan, J. (2010). The WIF of Peter Ingwersen’s website. In B. Larsen, J. W. Schneider, & F. Åström (Eds.), The Janus Faced Scholar a Festschrift in honour of Peter Ingwersen (pp. 119–121). Det Informationsvidenskabelige Akademi. Retrieved 15 January 15, 2020, from https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/90357690/JanusFacedScholer_Festschrift_PeterIngwersen_2010.pdf#page=122.Bar-Ilan, J. (2018). Eugene Garfield on the web in 2001. Scientometrics,114(2), 389–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2590-9.Bar-Ilan, J., Mat-Hassan, M., & Levene, M. (2006). Methods for comparing rankings of search engine results. Computer Networks,50(10), 1448–1463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2005.10.020.Thelwall, M. (2017). Judit Bar-Ilan: Information scientist, computer scientist, scientometrician. Scientometrics,113(3), 1235–1244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2551-3

Testing the stability of “wisdom of crowds” judgments of search results over time and their similarity with the search engine rankings

PURPOSE: One of the under-explored aspects in the process of user information seeking behaviour is influence of time on relevance evaluation. It has been shown in previous studies that individual users might change their assessment of search results over time. It is also known that aggregated judgments of multiple individual users can lead to correct and reliable decisions; this phenomenon is known as the “wisdom of crowds”. The aim of this study is to examine whether aggregated judgments will be more stable and thus more reliable over time than individual user judgments. DESIGN/METHODS: In this study two simple measures are proposed to calculate the aggregated judgments of search results and compare their reliability and stability to individual user judgments. In addition, the aggregated “wisdom of crowds” judgments were used as a means to compare the differences between human assessments of search results and search engine’s rankings. A large-scale user study was conducted with 87 participants who evaluated two different queries and four diverse result sets twice, with an interval of two months. Two types of judgments were considered in this study: 1) relevance on a 4-point scale, and 2) ranking on a 10-point scale without ties. FINDINGS: It was found that aggregated judgments are much more stable than individual user judgments, yet they are quite different from search engine rankings. Practical implications: The proposed “wisdom of crowds” based approach provides a reliable reference point for the evaluation of search engines. This is also important for exploring the need of personalization and adapting search engine’s ranking over time to changes in users preferences. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This is a first study that applies the notion of “wisdom of crowds” to examine the under-explored phenomenon in the literature of “change in time” in user evaluation of relevance

Bible Software on the Workbench of the Biblical Scholar: Assessment and Perspective

This article pursues two objectives. First, it tries to explain why Bible software is still not accepted as an indispensable tool for textual analysis. Second, it suggests that modern Hebrew databases can truly impact the analytic methodology of biblical scholars and help to verify and falsify interpretative suggestions. To achieve these two objectives, I will first describe the role Bible software plays in today’s scholarship. By contrasting the aids that Bible software offers with the analytic needs of biblical scholars, it is possible to show clearly what current electronic tools need if they are to play an essential methodological role in the analytic work of the scholar. The second part of the article will then illustrate, in some detail, what the Hebrew database of the Eep Talstra Centre of Bible and Computer (ETCBC) could offer today to the Old Testament scholar and how a future implementation into Bible software could deliver an electronic tool that becomes indispensable for Old Testament scholarship

Citation Autobiography: An Investigation of ISI Database Coverage in Determining Author Citedness

This article presents a case study investigating the coverage complete- ness of the Institute for Scientific Information’s citation data for specific authors, based on analysis of this author’s lifetime citation record, which was compiled through the ISI database, searching the literature for nearly fifteen years, and through various Web search engines. It was found that (with self-citations disregarded) the ISI captured 28.8 percent of the total citations, 42.2 percent of print citations, 20.3 percent of citations from outside the United States, and 2.3 percent of non-English citations. The definition and classification of Web citations are discussed. It is suggested that librarians and faculty should not rely solely on ISI author citation counts, especially when demonstration of international impact is important

Digital Expungement

Digital technology might lead to the extinction of criminal rehabilitation. In the digital era, criminal history records that were expunged by the state remain widely available through commercial vendors (data brokers) who sell this information to interested parties, or simply through a basic search of the Internet. The wide availability of information on expunged criminal history records increases the collateral consequences a criminal record entails, thereby eliminating the possibility of reintegration into society. Acknowledging the social importance of rehabilitation, policymakers attempted to regulate the practices of data brokers by imposing various legal obligations and restrictions, usually relating to the nature and accuracy of criminal records and the purposes for which they may be used. These regulations have been proven insufficient to ensure rehabilitation. But regardless of future outcomes of such regulatory attempts, policymakers have largely overlooked the risks of the Internet to expungement. Many online service providers and hosting services enable the wide dissemination and accessibility of criminal history records that were expunged. Legal research websites, websites that publish booking photographs taken during investigation (mugshots), social media platforms, and media archives all offer access to expunged criminal histories, many times without charge, and all with the simple use of a search engine. Without legal intervention, rehabilitation in the digital age in the U.S. has become nearly impossible. This Article offers a legal framework for reducing the collateral consequences of expunged criminal records by offering to re-conceptualize the public nature of criminal records. It proceeds as follows. After an introduction, Part II examines rehabilitation and expungement as facets of criminal law. Part III explores the challenges of digital technology to rehabilitation measures. Part IV evaluates and discusses potential ex-ante and ex-post measures that could potentially enable rehabilitation in the digital age. It argues that while ex-post measures are both unconstitutional and unrealistic for enabling digital expungement, ex-ante measures could be a viable solution. Accordingly, this Article suggests implanting a graduated approach towards the public nature of criminal history records, which would be narrowly tailored to serve the interests of rehabilitation-by-expungement. Finally, the last Part concludes the discussion and warns against reluctance in regulating expunged criminal histories

For Our Information, Summer & October 1958, Vol. XI, no. 1-2

An official publication of the ILR School, Cornell University, “for the information of all faculty, staff and students.

Estado de la cuestión de los estudios masoréticos

The foundation of the International Organization of Masoretic Studies (IOMS) in 1972 was a turning point in the studies on Masorah. Since then, Masoretic studies have undergone a true renaissance. The publications on Masoretic issues have proliferated, and the importance of the Masorah for the study of the text of the Hebrew Bible has been stressed in numerous reviews. This brief survey presents the evolution of Masoretic studies, the main research lines and achievements, and some of the most relevant works in the last forty years.La creación de la International Organization of Masoretic Studies (IOMS) en 1972 supuso un punto de inflexión en los estudios sobre Masora. Desde entonces, los estudios masoréticos han experimentado un auténtico renacer. Las publicaciones sobre temas masoréticos han proliferado y la importancia de la Masora para el estudio del texto de la Biblia Hebrea ha sido resaltada en numerosas reseñas. Esta breve panorámica ofrece la evolución de los estudios masoréticos, sus principales líneas de investigación y logros, así como los trabajos más significativos de los últimos cuarenta años

Controlling Informational Society: A Google Error Analysis!

“Informational Society” is unceasingly discussed by all societies’ quadrants. Nevertheless, in spite of illustrating the most recent progress of western societies the complexity to characterize it is well-known. In this societal evolution the “leading role” goes to information, as a polymorphic phenomenon and a polysemantic concept. Given such claim and the need for a multidimensional approach, the overall amount of information available online has reached an unparalleled level, and consequently search engines become exceptionally important. Search engines main stream literature has been debating the following perspectives: technology, user level of expertise and confidence, organizational impact, and just recently power issues. However, the trade-off between informational fluxes versus control has been disregarded. So, our intention is to discuss such gap, and for that, the overall structure of the chapter is: information, search engines, control and its dimensions, and exploit Google as a case study

Predicting News Values from Headline Text and Emotions

We present a preliminary study on predicting news values from headline text and emotions. We perform a multivariate analysis on a dataset manually annotated with news values and emotions, discovering interesting correlations among them. We then train two competitive machine learning models – an SVM and a CNN – to predict news values from headline text and emotions as features. We find that, while both models yield a satisfactory performance, some news values are more difficult to detect than others, while some profit more from including emotion information