1. Pick two search engines to compare such as Yahoo, Google, Bing, or DuckDuck Go.
- DuckDuckGo
2. Try lexically ambiguous searches, such as China or Washington. What search engine handles your search better? Why? Do you see any clustering?
- DuckDuckGo clustered information on both the game pool, as well as swimming pools, providing less, but accurate images for both, and clustering information into accurate specifications. (“Pool the game, or swimming pools?”)
- Google gave little variety in answers, clustering together information and pictures of swimming pools, and nothing else.
3. Try a sample search on both pages that is not (or is minimally) semantically ambigiuous. Considering only the top 20 results, which search engine offers better precision? Why do you say so?
- Google gave a simple and straight-forward answer, providing a list with pictures of some of the most popular games when “video game” was searched. It then provided various video game news and definitions
- DuckDuckGo did not give a list of popular games when “video game” was searched, but rather started straight with the video game news and definitions. This is likely because DuckDuckGo’s privacy does not tailor results based on user preference as it is geared towards privacy.
- Our group argues that in this regard, Google is more user-accessible and better for the common individual.
4. Is it possible to determine which search engine offers better recall? Explain why or why not?
- Not possible, based on user preference.
- Answer varies on user preference. DuckDuckGo has an emphasis on privacy which can limit the outcome of your searches, while Google collects your data to personalize the experience. Both sides are valuable and unique, so it is up to the user.
- DuckDuckGo has a way better mascot though.