Lehigh research team to investigate a 'Google for research data'

IMAGE: Brian Davison, Associate Professor of Computer Science Engineering at Lehigh University, is principal investigator of an NSF-backed project to develop a search engine intended to help scientists and others locate... view more There was a time--not that long ago--when the phrases "Google it" or "check Yahoo" would have been interpreted as sneezes, or a perhaps symptoms of an oncoming seizure, rather than as coherent thoughts. Today, these are key to answering all of life's questions. It's one thing to use the Web to keep up with a Kardashian, shop for ironic T-shirts, argue with our in-laws about politics, or any of the other myriad ways we use the Web in today's world. But if you are a serious researcher looking for real data that can help you advance your ideas, how useful are the underlying technologies that support the search engines we've all come to take for granted? "Not very," says Brian Davison, associate professor of computer science at Lehigh University.