Search Engine Interfaces

Donny Smith

Examples

Regardless of subject matter or "back end," interfaces are remarkably similar: input as words typed into a box or chosen from a menu; output as KWIC (keyword in context) lists or thumbnail grids.

Search Engine Basics

• Fig. 1: Kartoo input screen
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 2: Kartoo searching screen
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 3: Kartoo output screen
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 4: IPL Ask a Question input
  Text input provided by user and text input chosen from menu.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 5a: Question Master Biographical Module input (step 1)
  Text input provided by user.
  [ back to text ]
  Fig. 5b: Question Master Biographical Module input (step 2)
  Text input chosen from menu.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 6: Ramona output
  Sound with concurrent text.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 7: Paige output
  Sound only.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 8: Yahoo Alerts output
  Email message:
  Standard text list, each entry with title hyperlinked to online news article, name of news organization with time and date of posting, and the opening paragraph of the article.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 9: Goo input screen
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 10: Goo output screen
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 11: Google's output speed
  [ back to text ]

Input Screens

• Fig. 12: Teoma input
  Text input provided by user.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 13: Drexel Historic Costume Collection input
  Text input chosen from menu.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 14: Meet Me at Hot or Not input
  Text input chosen from a menu and text input provided by user.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 15: Butterfly Query by Appearance input
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 16a: Blobworld input (step 1)
  Graphic input chosen from menu, text input supplied by user.
  [ back to text ]
  Fig. 16b: Blobworld input (step 2)
  Text input chosen from menu.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 17: Belmont Abbey College Scholastica input
  Graphic input chosen from menu and text supplied by user.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 18: QBIC Layout Search input
  Graphic input created by user at interface.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 19: 3D Model Search Engine input
  Graphic input created by user at interface and text input supplied by user.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 20: SIMPLIcity input
  Graphic input provided by user, or graphic input created by user at interface, or graphic input chosen from menu.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 21: Butterfly Query by Appearance Chinese-language input
  [ back to text ]

Output Screens

• Fig. 22: Teoma output
  Four groups of entries, arranged in two columns.
  Wide column on left: first, paid entries (advertisers), then non-paid; each entry with hyperlinked title, keyword-in-context (KWIC), and uniform resource locator (URL).
  Narrow column on right: first, related entries, then "meta-sites" (sites listing other sites); each entry with hyperlinked title only.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 23: Yahoo Image Search output
  Four-column grid, each entry enclosed in a square of equal size; each entry with hyperlinked thumbnail display of graphic file, file name, file size, and URL.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 24: QBIC Colour Search output
  Two-column grid, each entry with thumbnail display of graphic file, hyperlinked title, artist name, and date.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 25: 3D Model Search output
  Two frames.
  Left frame: input interface repeated from previous screen (Fig. 19)
  Right frame: four-column grid, each entry with thumbnail display of graphic file hyperlinked to further information and a larger view, file name, and a link labeled "Find similar shape" leading to further output.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 26: Belmont Abbey College Scholastica output
  Two columns.
  Left: List of call numbers and subject headings.
  Right: Graphic display of call numbers and subject headings, with titles, hyperlinked to library catalog holdings or online text.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 27: Mooter output
  Two columns.
  Left: General subtopics grouped as spokes with "All Results" at axlepoint.
  Right: Link to further groupings of subtopics, link to traditional results list.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 28: Butterfly Query by Appearance output
  Two frames.
  Left: 5-column grid, each entry with filename, thumbnail display of graphic file hyperlinked to further information (in Chinese), and a hyperlink labeled "Similar to this" leading to further output.
  Right: 1 column, each entry with shape description, thumbnail display of graphic file, and a hyperlink labeled "Show images with this feature" leading to further output.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 29: Meet Me at Hot or Not output
  Complex table.
  Center column: "Do you want to meet me?", followed by search menu repeated from input screen (Fig. 14), followed by first output entry.
  Output entry: hyperlinked descriptive terms, description, graphic file display, stable hyperlink. To see further output entries, the user must click NO in the "Do you want to meet me?" form at the top of the page.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 30: EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier output (citation list)
  Standard text list, each entry with title hyperlinked to citation and abstract, author, periodical title and citation information, and document number; some entries also include hyperlinks to full text of the article or to the articles reference list.
  [ back to text ]

• Fig. 31: LexisNexis Academic output (KWIC list)
  Standard text list, each entry with periodical title hyperlinked to full text of the article, date, day, citation information, article title, author, and KWICs (keywords in context; that is, the search term with preceding and following words from the article).
  [ back to text ]