For this assignment, we were asked to evaluate one aspect of one system. I chose the UNCG libraries, found library.uncg.edu. I used the landing page for a keyword search of everything in WorldCat.
I am looking for how useful the limiters are in a search for “Paul Hewson” and
“Bono.” Bono, frontman for the rockband U2, was born Paul David Hewson in
Dublin, on May 10, 1960.[1]
Search: Paul Hewson
Results where both “Paul” and “Hewson” were in the metadata
or record.
Limiter: Author: “Bono” – no identifying
information: (b. 1960); (U2); (musician)
U2’s
music and books in Dutch (if the
metadata says “is Paul David Hewson” - it’s in Dutch,
or a Dutch resource…)
Conclusion: a
search by birth name would not be the way to go about a search for the Irish
rockstar. Identifying information in the limiters would be helpful. A search by stage name
to follow.
Search: Bono
limiters:
none: 55,262
results – sorted by “library and relevance” – Edward de Bono; pro bono; Chaz,
Sonny, or Cher Bono, etc
Results
that are about Bono or U2:
o #31:
One Step Closer (a book about U2’s
music and looking for God) (first result that is conclusively about Bono or U2)
o #45:
Duets: Frank Sinatra (Bono dueted on “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”)
(first musical result with Bono in the record)
o #51:
Exploring U2: Is This Rock N’ Roll?
(Book about U2 and rock and roll) (Second book result about Bono or U2)
o #66:
All That You Can’t Leave Behind (U2 album) (first U2 album as a result)
Limiter:
Author: “Bono” – no
identifying information: (b. 1960); (U2); (musician)
books,
articles, other things with Bono as
the author in the 100 field.
Limiter:
Topic: “Music” – 543 results
still
get a lot of results about Chaz, Sonny, or Cher Bono, as well as a lot of things that are music related in general.
o lots
of essays about music (some of which relate to U2, others relate to Sonny and
Cher)
o U2
albums, U2 concert DVDs (as well as Rattle
and Hum on VHS…)
o Lots
of results for Sonny Bono, as well as Chaz Bono and Cher Bono
o Lots
of results that have no apparent connection to either Bono (U2) or Bono, Sonny
Results
that are biographies/autobiographies of Bono (U2):
o #20:
U2 by U2
o #25:
Bono on Bono; correctly titled: Bono in
Conversation
Conclusion:
The limiters were not particularly useful. I could only choose materials written by Bono, not written about Bono. I was unable to find a limiter for a subject or topic of Bono, and was therefore unable to eliminate Chaz, Sonny, and Cher Bono. If I chose Bono as the author, I would eliminate all other materials about him. There was no identifying information attached to the limiter: author: “Bono.” If someone was searching for “Bono” it would be helpful to have identifying information in the limiters. |
| Figure 2: all results |
 |
| Figure 1: Academic Search Complete |
As shown in Figure 1, in EBSCO’s Academic Search Complete,
there is a Subject limiter,
where you can limit to Bono as a subject. It also clearly shows the difference between Sonny
Bono, Cher Bono, and Bono (U2). In Figure 2, however, the results are only limitable to the Author field, and give no
identifying information about Bono himself.
Suggestions for improvement:
The simple inclusion of dates would be helpful for the author limiter. Adding a section for “subject,” as most people would be searching for information about Bono, as opposed to by Bono.
[1] This is a
one-sentence summation of his Wikipedia intro, which is information culled from
his two autobiographies: U2 by U2 and
Bono in Conversation.
I received full marks for my system evaluation.
I received full marks for my system evaluation.
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