A new search engine from TigerLogic Corporation, of Irvine Calif., is being pushed to scholars and researchers, among others. Called, ChunkIt, the search engine refines results from other search engines and databases, and displays chunks of text surrounding the key words.
In one of the company’s promotional videos, shown below, a stressed-out college student uses ChunkIt to narrow a search on the Russian Revolution via the Lexis/Nexis database. The student sports an Oberlin College sweatshirt and gripes about meeting a deadline for a research paper in two hours.
Steven J. Bell, a research librarian at Temple University, picks apart the video on a blog from the Association of College and Research Libraries, noting that it gives short shrift to the skills of librarians. He questions why the student would need ChunkIt to refine his search when Lexis/Nexis already has tools available to narrow search results. His conclusion? ChunkIt is appropriate for use with other search engines like Google, but not with library databases.—Andrea L. Foster
7 Responses to Search Engine, ChunkIt, Marketed to College Students
nivek - March 7, 2012 at 2:15 pm
i have a paper that’s been unfinished for 6 years. shall i send it your way?
Robert Talbert - March 7, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Sure! That’ll only be $200 an hour.
jliedl - March 7, 2012 at 3:53 pm
You’re right – sometimes it’s better to trash the old material rather than try to salvage it. I’m in the midst of finishing up a chapter draft to submit for a collection.
I’ve been operating on this same principle. Instead of reworking the related article that never made it into print, I’m creating a new outline and building this chapter as a new creation. Reviewing the old piece reminded me of the resources I used and it’ll be easier to integrate them into the new analytic framework if I’m not getting lost in messy cut-and-paste mix-ups!
Sharon E. Greene - March 8, 2012 at 9:18 am
Totally agree with your three points, especially #2 – if it’s broke, you can’t fix it. As a former foundation officer, I’ve told many prospective grantees to dump what they’ve done and start over. Most often, they’ve done a cut & paste from a boilerplate proposal (always a bad idea) or from a committee report (an even worse idea!). Far better to start fresh and find the “through line” that moves your idea (or proposal) from Point A to Point B, with supporting evidence along the way. The end result will be a far more compelling piece of writing with a much greater chance of being funded or published.
PS to Robert. I’m now a proposal writing and editing consultant, primarily for educational institutions. Would love to know how to charge $200 per hour!
nivek - March 8, 2012 at 10:43 am
it’s even a topology paper, so it’s not completely foreign material for you. can i get a discount for that?
Robert Talbert - March 8, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Heh – my topology skills are so rusty that I can almost assure you it’d come out worse if I had anything to do with it. :)
Marc Baldwin - March 8, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Nice, succinct advice