Optimal searching

Many Internet users will be familiar with seach engines such as Google and Yahoo. Google enables broad searches based on a single keyword, but also more targeted searches by combining search words. All in all, Google enables relatively targeted searches for books or excerpts from texts.

There are also many things that Google cannot do.For instance, it is not possible to search by synonyms or related terms. Neither does Google make a distinction between word meanings. For instance, the word queen has five meanings, from a female monarch to a chess piece. In other words, the search results contain a lot of redundant information. Moreover, you are never really sure how much relevant material has remained undiscoverd as a result of your search action.

The RNA experiments with tools that enable proper searching in knowledge networks. The users is provided with assistance, so that he or she is able to quickly and precisely uncover all the relevant material on a particular topic. Irrelevant information is excluded as quickly as possible.

In short

• How can users be assisted in creating effective search queries?
• How can broad searches be enabled, such as searches based on synonyms, related terms and correctly spelled search words (in case of incorrect entries)?
• How can end users be assisted in narrowing down search queries so that they can quickly find relevant information?