Database Management Systems (DBMS), Essay Example

The course topic I have selected to investigate for this week’s discussion is database management systems (DBMS). The most common type of search engines that are used today are crawler-based search engines, which create their listings automatically by allowing their software to search the web and list its findings to comprise a database. Search engines that use this technique include Google, AllTheWeb, and AltaVista. The first search that I conducted on Google simply included the search term “DBMS” and the first website that it listed was a Wikipedia page. This is because this is the most visited and linked to website on the topic. Wikipedia briefly explained that there are four different types of DBMS, including hierarchal, network, relational, and object-oriented. Other search engines utilize human-powered directories, and these include Yahoo directory, Open Directory, and LookSmart. These search engines are useful when a user is interested in a particular topic and wishes to retrieve a description of the information during the search. A majority of technology and science databases, such as PubMed, also use this method. Thus, results retrieved are more relevant. A Yahoo directory search of “DBMS” brought up a definition of the term on a website call “Techterms.com”. It reads “Stands for “Database Management System.” In short, a DBMS is a database program.” This search result is more relevant than the first, as the Wikipedia article only listed types of DBMS rather explaining what DBMS actually is. Meta-search engines include Dogpile, Mamma, and Metacrawler, and search several keywords at the same time. These engines are ideal for saving time because the user can search several different search engines by using them. A search of “DBMS” on Dogpile brought up the main hits from both the Google search and the Yahoo directory search. Although DBMS is a somewhat common term, it can be expected that this is a reasonable search method when a term has less relevant pages and a more thorough search is therefore required.

Ultimately, I prefer Google for simple knowledge searches, Yahoo directory to answer specific research questions, and Dogpile to acquire information about uncommon topics. The search results I encountered were expected because I searched using one term rather than several. If I had searched more than one term using Dogpile, it is likely that I would have received results pertaining to both topics at once and both topics individually. In Yahoo directory, the results would have only pertained to one topic. Fortunately, I did not encounter any problems during this exercise.

References

Stanger J, Kozakis KA. (2012). Internet Business Associate Academic Student Guide. Tempe,  AZ: Certification Partners, LLC.