From: Kristen Garlock <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2013 16:49:57 -0500

Apologies for cross posting….

Dear colleagues:

Today we released “Beta Search,” a completely new JSTOR search, with a
redesigned interface and a new search engine. The new search is easily
accessible from a link on www.jstor.org. It’s presented in parallel
with the existing search options during the testing period to avoid
disrupting regular research workflows on the site.

We’re excited to make the new search available in this beta version so
we can gather feedback and make further improvements over the coming
months. During the beta period, we’ll be focusing our development
efforts in these areas:

·         Refining the new interface: facets that allow easy
narrowing/broadening of searches

·         Improving relevance rankings: results that more closely
match your search terms

·         Incorporating new features, including auto-suggested search
terms and spell checking

·         Enhancing the search results view to support evaluation of
relevance: preview article and book details directly from the search
results list

One particularly exciting feature of the new Beta Search is the
application of “topic modeling” to enhance discovery of content.
Unlike standard searching on JSTOR where searches can be focused only
within disciplines assigned at the journal level, the Beta Search uses
text analysis techniques to automatically assign one or more topics to
an article. The goal is to help searchers find relevant content that
may be outside of their main disciplinary area.

We would love to have your feedback on the Beta Search. Particularly –
do you see improved search results with the new search? Did it behave
as you expected? What other facets or interface changes would you like
to see? (It's important to note that the Beta Search is not a finished
product – you may encounter bugs and we’d like to hear about those,
too.)

You can read more about the Beta Search (including the application of
topic modeling) at http://about.jstor.org/beta-search. Please don’t
hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Kristen Garlock
Associate Director, Education & Outreach - JSTOR