Feasibility Report of Search Engines

Transcription

1 2013 Feasibility Report of Search Engines PROFFESOR DRINNEN, TECH COM 2700 FEILPE MERCADO, GRACE NGOBIA, RICH WILLIAMS, RICHARD WILLIAMS, TAYLOR SCHUMACHER

2 Table of Contents Contents Table of Contents... 1 Executive Summary... 2 Introduction... 3 Methods for evaluating the options... 3 Speed of search... 3 Methods... 3 Methods for determining the best search engine Results... 5 Number of Results... 5 Bing Results:... 5 Google Results:... 5 Yahoo Results:... 5 Number of categories:... 5 Bing Categories:... 5 Google Categories:... 6 Yahoo Categories:... 6 Conclusion... 6 Recommendation... 6

3 Executive Summary Google, Bing, and Yahoo are search engines that offer a wide variety of ways to gather information on the World Wide Web. The purpose of this feasibility study was to examine each search engine and determine which would give its customer the best number of results, the best variety of content, and the best level of speed at which the content was delivered. The conclusion of this study revealed that Yahoo represented the criteria of best variety of content. However, Bing provided the best speed at which the content was delivered and represented best number of results. While it is understandable that many people use these (3) search engines on a day to day basis, Bing displayed and best represented 2 out of 3 criteria s used for this report. Based on these criteria s, it is this our recommendation that the search engine Bing is used when gathering information from the World Wide Web.

4 Introduction Today search engines have become part of everyday life. Search engines are like virtual libraries that can be used to find and locate certain topics. Many users are able to locate any information at a click of a button. People have many choices when it comes to search engines on the internet. Bing, Yahoo and Google are the top three search engines used today by millions of people every day. Some people make their choice based on their home page or which service they use. In this report our team will categorize all three engines based on speed, number of results and categories. In this report we will try to find the best search engine. Many of the results used in this report are classified by numbers. By doing this it eliminates any chance of biased results. Many of the results of the study showed that some search engines are better used for scholarly projects and others where better suited for finding other subjects such as music, art and pop culture. It is ultimately a choice made by the individual. What the numbers did show is that Bing was the fastest and provided the larger number of results. While on the other hand Yahoo provided a better variety of content. Google been the one of the most popular search engine in the world came in second to last on all categories. Methods for evaluating the options To support my recommendations, I evaluate the feasibility of each Search Engine using three criteria. In order to determine the feasibility we searched a total of 10 key words. -Number of results of search. -Categories you can search for. Speed of search To gather information for the evaluation, I searched 10 key words and recorded measurements based on the criteria previously established. Execution was simple, visit each website and conduct searches. The measurements are quantitative and not qualitative to provide a more technical answer to our question. Seeing as search engines are about gathering information the opinion of the user is not valued in determining the best search engine. We define best as the search engine who can find the most answers, the fastest, and with the most amount of categories in which to find results. Methods Our group conducted quantitative sampling of popular search engines in order to determine which one is the best. The criteria was evaluated using 10 key words, each was searched for and its coordinating data was recorded. The search engines we utilized are located at: -Google.com -Bing.com -Yahoo.com

5 Methods for determining the best search engine. In order to measure the search engines performance we relied on quantitative information gathered in the following way: 1. Visit the website via a computer. 2. Type the key word into the search bar found on each website. 3. Document the time it took to search by locating the speed. 4. Document the amount of results, located in the corner of the screen in most cases 5. Document the total number of categories possible to be searched. Table 1 shows the number of results for each key word. Rose Sword Gravy Goose Monkey Dallas Bing 180,000,000 62,200,000 16,900,000 40,500, ,000, ,000,000 Google 332,000 48,600,000 11,100,000 30,300,000 75,600, ,000,000 Yahoo 180,000,000 63,200,000 18,400,000 39,900, ,000, ,000,000 UNT Pencil Mustache Raven Bing 4,720,000 44,800,000 10,000,000 46,000,000 Google 7,960,000 43,200,000 9,420,000 36,400,000 Yahoo 4,910,000 44,200,000 9,970,000 45,600,000 Table 2 shows the number of categories available to search from each search engine. # of Categories Bing 11 Google 12 Yahoo 15

6 Results We gathered our information by searching 10 key words and determined the effectiveness of each search engine. We evaluated each of them by the number of results of search, categories you can search for, and the speed of the search. Number of Results When it came to evaluating the number of results, we typed in the words individually into each of the separate search engines. Each search engine gave the number of results or each of the words. When added all together, Bing had the highest number of results and Google had the least. Bing Results: Estimated total number: 721,000,000 This search engine ranked highest in the number if results criteria. Even though it s the popular out of all to be used for searching, it was evaluated to have the highest numbers of searches compared to the other two search engines. When it came to the individual searched words, it was in the mid to upper range. Google Results: Estimated total number: 410,000,000 This search engine ranked up to having the least number is results. Although it is the most poplar amongst most students, the numbers say otherwise. Yahoo Results: Estimated total number: 720,000,000 This search engine that ranked within the middle of the other two right. Behind Bing in all of the searches, it came close, but lacked in numbers when it came to words like goose, Dallas, pencil, mustache, and raven. Number of categories: We tried to find which search engine would provide most amount of categories in which to find results. By Bing Categories: # of categories: 11 Out of all of them Bing has the least number and amount of categories, falling only one behind Google.

7 Google Categories: # of categories: 12. Only one away from catching up to Bing, Google falls short on the number of categories. It has the median score. Yahoo Categories: # of categories: 15 Although there was a slight difference when it came to this category, yahoo has the most number of categories compared to the other two search engines. Speed of Search: Bing: Google: Yahoo: Conclusion The three search engines have advantages and disadvantages. Yahoo had more categories but came in seconded to Bing in number of results. Bing had the least number of categories but the most results. Bing also had the fastest result. While Google had the least midrange of categories but least amount of results and placed last. Bing solidly was in first place in two of the three categories so it would be the best search engine. Recommendation While each search engine had good attributes, Bing is solidly recommended for its results and speed of the search. The average user would find Bing the best search engine.