A comparative study on the indexing and ranking of the content objects including the MARCXML and Dublin Core's metadata elements by general search engines
| Published date | 03 August 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471211252193 |
| Date | 03 August 2012 |
| Pages | 480-491 |
| Author | Sayyed Mahdi Taheri,Nadjla Hariri |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
A comparative study on the
indexing and ranking of the
content objects including the
MARCXML and Dublin Core’s
metadata elements by general
search engines
Sayyed Mahdi Taheri and Nadjla Hariri
Department of Library and Information Science, Science and Research Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research was to assess and compare the indexing and ranking of
XML-based content objects containing MARCXML and XML-based Dublin Core (DCXML) metadata
elements by general search engines (Google and Yahoo!), in a comparative analytical study.
Design/methodology/approach – One hundred XML content objects in two groups were analyzed:
those with MARCXML elements (50 records) and those with DCXML (50 records) published on two
web sites (www.dcmixml.islamicdoc.org and www.marcxml.islamicdoc.org).The web sites were then
introduced to the Google and Yahoo! search engines.
Findings – The indexing of metadata records and the difference between their indexing and ranking
were examined using descriptive statistics and a non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. The findings
show that the visibility of content objects was possible by all their metadata elements. There was no
significant difference between two groups’ indexing, but a difference was observedin terms of ranking.
Practical implications – The findings of this research can help search engine designers in the
optimum use of metadata elements to improve their indexing and ranking process with the aim of
increasing availability. The findings can also help web content object providers in the proper and
efficient use of metadata systems.
Originality/value – This is the first research to examine the interoperability between XML-based
metadata and web search engines, and compares the MARC format and DCMI in a research approach.
Keywords DCXML, MARCXML,Indexing, Metadata elements, Ranking,Search engines,
eXtensible MarkupLanguage (XML), Markup languages, Websites
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
With the development of the web, as the most important technology of the Internet,
including exclusive capabilities, many organizations, publishers, information centers,
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
Sayyed Mahdi Taheri’s research entitled “A comparative study of the indexing quality and
ranking of the content objects including the MARC21 and Dublin Core” was First Winner of the
Youth Section in the Farabi International Awards in 2009 (see www.farabiaward.ir/en/module/
winner/58/).
EL
30,4
480
Received October 2010
Revised January 2011
Accepted January 2011
The Electronic Library
Vol. 30 No. 4, 2012
pp. 480-491
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640471211252193
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