An empirical study on the effect of demographic features and choice of keywords have on searching success of Ananzi users

Abstract

The main objective was to determine if demographic features, as well as the choice of keywords used on local search engine Ananzi, do affect searching success. In determining this, other factors of search engines need to be considered l.e the use of robots and information retrieval methods. Method: A list of keywords was obtained from Ananzi, based on searches of the previous month. The keywords were used to derive categories. These categories were intergrated into the questionnaire and then hosted by Ananzi to elicit user responses. The first question asked of the user was whether or not they used Ananzi during the month in question, which linked the categories derived from the previous month's list of keywords to the current user. Analysis: A quantitative method was used. Results: The results of the questionnaire analysis indicate that age, race, spelling, use the Boolean operators and the number of keywords used, all affect searching success. Conclusion: In conclusion, it was determined that demographic features and the choice of keywords do affect searching success. Furthermore views on different perspectives were taken to determine what influential factors could cause demographic features to have an effect on searching success.