Google: Journal Citation Reports for the Internet?

[Eric Schnell]

-   Unlike many search engines which utilize relevancy raking based on word 
frequency, Google relies on something called PageRank.  It uses link 
structure as an indicator of an individual page's value.

      In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, 
by page A, for page B.  Google looks at more than the total number of 
votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the 
vote.  Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more 
heavily and help to make other pages "important."   Important, high-quality 
sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google remembers each time it 
conducts a search.

    After reading this over is struck me that this reads like ISI's Journal 
Citation Reports.

       Of course, important pages mean nothing if they don't match a query. 
So, Google combines PageRank with text-matching techniques to find pages 
that are both important and relevant to a search.  Google goes far beyond 
the number of times a term appears on a page and examines all aspects of 
the page's content and the content of the pages linking to it to determine 
if it's a good match for a query.


   Just an observation which may help explain why Google is recommended by 
1 of every 2 librarians. It is very well designed.



Eric Schnell
Assistant Professor
Head, Information Technology Services
Prior Health Sciences Library
The Ohio State University
schnell.9 at osu.edu / 614-292-4870
http://bones.med.ohio-state.edu/eric.html