Abstract
The article describes a pilot research project which uses the output of a number of searchers performing the same search, to identify those factors that affect search success. The empha sis is not on any specific printed source or database, but rather on the underlying search process, which involves the use of a number of different information sources. Some comparisons have been made between manual and online sources. Some of the issues that have affected relative manual/online search success are: subject coverage of sources, selection of relevant references, time span coverage of databases, equivalence of sources, errors, abstracts, index and search terminology, search strategies, browsing, thesauri, search time, learning and refer ence location. The project is seen as the basis for a more controlled investigation into the relative success of the searcher/information interface in searching manual and online sources, respectively.
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