Stevan,
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Repositories discussion list [mailto:JISC-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stevan Harnad
>
> On 25-Jun-08, at 8:35 AM, Scott Welsh wrote:
>
> > I don't think we can assume all searchers are, or even want to
> be,
> > competent users of Boolean logic.
>
> A whole planet has been training on it daily for a generation, by
> google search...
>
Your definition of a generation is a bit short and most users of Google know nothing about Boolean logic. They stuff a few words into Google and PageRank magically moves relevant items to the top of the results list. If I were in a negative mood I might claim that PageRank is destroying our ability to construct (and therefore understand) searches.
I train students (UG, PGT and research) and teaching staff advanced use of search tools and the great majority have never got past simple search. They don't know about Boolean, they don't know about limits, they have no idea about how to construct a search. Fortunately they can be taught :-) .
Regards,
John Smith.
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