{"id":567,"date":"2019-07-17T16:30:31","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T14:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/?page_id=567"},"modified":"2019-08-09T11:45:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T09:45:11","slug":"1-5-search-types","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/1-5-search-types\/","title":{"rendered":"1.5. Search types"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Without doubt, the Internet has become the key tool for searching and finding information. When we, as users, use search engines, we leave a trace that companies and institutions try to profit from, and they do not miss the opportunity to have an influence on our decisions. The way search engines offer results to users has changed a lot since the emergence of the Internet, and this fact also determines the kind of searches we perform on the Internet.<\/p>\n<p>The basic search types, which were available from the beginning of the Internet, try to find any of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A website:<\/strong> searches devoted to finding a website or an on-line application without the need to write its URL address. When we write \u201cYouTube\u201d or \u201cNetflix\u201d in the search box, we do not intend to find information on these services, but access them directly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Information:<\/strong> the goal of the search is to find the most relevant information hosted on the Internet on a given topic. This information may be retrieved in many different formats: text, image, video, infographics, maps, PDF documents, slide presentations, glossaries, directories, etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A product:<\/strong> in this case, the aim of the search is usually the purchase of a product or service. Companies devote many resources and efforts to achieving the most favourable positioning, and this is one of the main income sources for search engines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Search engines have extensively studied user behaviour, and for this reason they put a great deal of care in the design of their results page (SERP, Search Engine Results Pages) and try to meet users\u2019 needs and obtain an economic profit from them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"featured featured-grey\"><\/p>\n<p>If we focus on Google, which is, without doubt, the most popular search engine, we may see the different ways it has to show results according to its interpretation of the user\u2019s needs. When trying to search for a historical figure, for instance, it will show us Wikipedia articles first. At the same time, on the right side of the screen, a knowledge graphic will provide us with data in an immediate and visual manner:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_743\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-743\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-743 size-large\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_2_Socrates_en-1024x734.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_2_Socrates_en-1024x734.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_2_Socrates_en-300x215.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_2_Socrates_en-768x551.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_2_Socrates_en.png 1268w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-743\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 2. An example of the results obtained with Google search engine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If we are searching for a song instead, Google will offer us the possibility to watch a YouTube video in which the original performer plays the song, as well as other recordings.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_744\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-744\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-744\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_3_yestarday_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_3_yestarday_en.png 849w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_3_yestarday_en-300x264.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_3_yestarday_en-768x675.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-744\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 3. An example of the results obtained with Google search engine if we are searching for a song.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If, conversely, we write \u201ctrip to Rome\u201d, the first results that appear are sponsored advertisements (among which there is a ticket sale service) and on the right we may see a squared shape that contains information from Wikipedia.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_746\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-746\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-746 size-large\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_4_Roma_en-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_4_Roma_en-1024x683.png 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_4_Roma_en-300x200.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_4_Roma_en-768x512.png 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_4_Roma_en.png 1315w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-746\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 4. An example of the results obtained with Google search engine when we search for a city.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In order to see further examples of how versatile the Google results page is, we may try to introduce such words as \u201cibex35\u201d, \u201cfrom Barcelona to Andorra\u201d, \u201ctranslate candlestick\u201d, \u201cbuy pan\u201d candy crush\u201d, etc. and see how the results page obtained in each case are very different.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_747\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-747\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-747\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_5_translate_canelobre_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_5_translate_canelobre_en.png 836w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_5_translate_canelobre_en-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_5_translate_canelobre_en-300x300.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_5_translate_canelobre_en-768x770.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-747\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 5. Google translator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Google makes its search engine more sophisticated and tries to offer search results in a more immediate way. For instance, we may use the search bar as a calculator (we will see this if we write an arithmetical calculation on it, such as \u201c3+12\/100\u201d).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_748\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-748\" style=\"width: 641px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-748\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_6_calculator_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"641\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_6_calculator_en.png 794w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_6_calculator_en-300x198.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_6_calculator_en-768x506.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-748\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 6. Calculator in Google search engine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The search engine understands that we want to make a calculation, and opens up a perfectly functional calculator that contains the result. It does not only admit simple operations, but also allows for the graphical representation of functions such as \u201ccos (3x) + sin (x), cos (7x) + sin (x)\u201d:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_749\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-749\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-749\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_7_operation_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_7_operation_en.png 825w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_7_operation_en-300x197.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_7_operation_en-768x505.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-749\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 7. An example of the graph that is obtained when performing an operation with Google.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The search bar may also be used as a unit converter (figure 8), as a currency converter (figure 9) and even as a colour code converter (figure 10).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_750\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-750\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-750\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_8_temperature_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_8_temperature_en.png 862w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_8_temperature_en-300x140.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_8_temperature_en-768x359.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-750\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 8. Unit converter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_751\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-751\" style=\"width: 641px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-751\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_9_dollars_euros_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"641\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_9_dollars_euros_en.png 841w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_9_dollars_euros_en-300x150.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_9_dollars_euros_en-768x384.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-751\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 9. Currency converter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_752\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-752\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-752\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_10_colour_en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"549\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_10_colour_en.png 794w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_10_colour_en-300x257.png 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/figure_10_colour_en-768x659.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-752\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 10. Google colour code.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Without doubt, the Internet has become the key tool for searching and finding information. When we, as users, use search engines, we leave a trace that companies and institutions try to profit from, and they do not miss the opportunity to have an influence on our decisions. The way search engines offer results to users [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/567"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":753,"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/567\/revisions\/753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cerca-informacio.recursos.uoc.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}