Background & Adoption

• Discovery Background

• Quickly• By small development teams• Using rudimentary relevance algorithms built around

searching article titles and words within the full text• Often as a side project for companies who invest

more technical resources into ILS

First generation discovery services were developed:

EDS Background

• Years in the making• Extraordinary technical development resources pre-launch • By far the main technical focus of EBSCO post launch

(EBSCO is not diverted by ILS, instead choosing to partner with existing ILS vendors):

357 of 451 developers & software engineers working on EDS product line as of 2015

• Sophisticated relevance and value ranking algorithms refined through unparalleled user research

EDS Discovery Health is next generation technology:

EDS Discovery Health supports access to quality medical resources in six fundamental ways

1. Quick access to all the resources in the medical library with customizable, next-generation interface

2. Always relevant and current results

3. Increased visibility and usage of your library’s resources

4. Integration with your existing intranet, EHR, local policies and procedures

5. Customizable profiles for different groups of users

6. Subject indexing or thesauri fully integrated with PubMed’s indexing, CINAHL headings & MeSH from a variety of resources

“Web-Scale Discovery in an Academic Health Sciences Library: Development and Implementation of EDS”

Jolinda L. Thompson, Kathe S. Obrig, and Laura E. Abate

• “…discovery promises the ease and speed of Google’s keyword search, sorting massive retrieval sets with complex relevancy-ranking algorithms to bring the most relevant resources to the top of the results lists. The faceting features gives users ways to drill down to the specific results desired by sorting source types, locations, publishers, author, and so forth.”

• “It (EBSCO Discovery Service) is a far more focused search tool, both in terms of resources included & options for narrowing retrieval.”

Excerpts from: “Web-Scale Discovery in an Academic Health Sciences Library: Development and Implementation of EDS”Medical Reference Services Quarterly, February 2013

Open Relevance Ranking

Openness About Relevance Algorithm

• Neither web search engines nor first generation discovery services are open about how their relevance algorithm works

• EDS is open for all customers and potential customers

• Truly sophisticated relevance algorithms are not easy to duplicate – even with the basic recipe

Open / Superior Relevance RankingThe system has the following priorities and has

no bias toward content from any provider:

1. Match on subject headings from controlled vocabularies

2. Match on article titles

3. Match on author keywords

4. Match on keywords within abstracts

5. Match on keywords within full text

Relevance Ranking

The first result in Google is detailed information about how relevance ranking / value ranking works in EDS…

Only EDS Discovery Health delivers the critical content with the smartest searching

technology

Demonstration

EBSCO’s algorithm seems to be able to identify better metadata—

and that it’s often not choosing EBSCO’s metadata.

Gary DaughtDirector of Library Services,

P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library

“”

Metadata

Open Metadata Sharing & Technology Collaboration

• EBSCO has offered its metadata from full-text databases, e-books, and full-text historical archives to any discovery vendor In exchange for technical collaboration

(e.g., OPAC functionality, etc.)• Subject index providers (including EBSCO) will not provide

metadata from A&I databases until/unless first generation discovery services advance to accommodate these datasets

• www.ebscohost.com/metadata-sharing-policy

Technology & Metadata are both advantages of EDS Discovery Health

• EDS Discovery Health already incorporates the features and approach necessary for inclusion of the most important third party databases

• EBSCO obtains the highest quality metadata by listening to and responding to the needs of content providers

EDS is the only one that is integrated with a delivery

platform…We can be assured that

it is stimulating use [of PsycINFO®],

not substituting for it.

Linda BeebeSenior Director (retired),

PsycINFO

Stakeholders Strive to Define Standards for Web-Scale Discovery SystemsBy Michael Kelley on October 11, 2012

“

”

Subject indexing and thesauri are fully integrated with PubMed’s

indexing and MeSH from:

CINAHL | PsycINFO® | Cochrane

and many more

EDS Discovery Health fully integrates OPAC functionality

• Encore

• VUFind

• Enterprise

• CyberTools

• Many others

EDS Discovery Health is the most

technically open discovery service…

…by being

fully mobile

Auto-detected mobile users...Skinning/Branding…Facets…Usage Reporting

…by being

international

Languages Handled by EDS Discovery Health

…by anticipating

User Intent

68,000+ “Research Starters” provided by Salem Press PhDs & Magill’s Medical Guide

Your LibGuides become part of EDS Discovery Health & appear when appropriate

Each library may include apps as desired

Forthcoming to EDS Discovery

Health

EDS Discovery Health will enable users to link to the native database, with its

authorities, limiters, field search, etc.

TOPICAL SEARCH DOMINATESTopical search dominance applies to all

markets/searches

Based on one-week sample of randomly selected EDS search queries by market (Sept-2014)

Topical Query Subject Indexing in EDS Discovery Health

PET scanPositron Emission TomographyTomography, Emission-ComputedEmission Tomography

adhd Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorderAttention deficit disorder with hyperactivity

cervical erosion Cervical erosionUterine Cervical erosion

tumorsTumoursNeoplasmsNeoplasms, cystic, mucinous, and serous

atarax Hydroxyzine (Drug)Hyrdroxyzine

Problem: Missed Connections

User queries and subject indexing not always aligned.Different vocabularies often use different terminology for the same concept.

Multiple concept match: adhd AND autism

EDS Discovery Health will include mapping of “see also” and “use for”

terms from more than 135 thesauri from important indexes

• Academic Search• America: History & Life• Art Abstracts• ATLA Religion Database• Business Source• CAB Abstracts• CINAHL• Food Science & Technology

Abstracts• GeoRef• HeinOnline• Historical Abstracts

• Index Islamicus• Inspec• LGBT Life• MathSciNet• MLA International Bibliography• Philosopher’s Index• PsycINFO• PSYNDEX• PubMed / MEDLINE (MeSH)• SocINDEX• SPORTDiscus• And many more

Video is desired by some medical university users

• Medical university EDS search logs are analyzed regularly

• User research is conducted with undergraduates, graduate students and faculty

• Discovery end users are looking for more than just journals & books

• EDS indexes Alexander Street Press and Films On Demand for mutual customers

• EDS is also adding full access to videos from Medcom

Option for “Bento Box” Result List

EBSCO Apps & Services– browsable website for all available apps, plugins, extensions

Anticipating User Intent Highlighting Content Library Interaction

30+ EDS Field Engineers have created 100+ (& growing)customer-driven apps & plugins

Thank You