Entrez and BLAST: Precision and Recall in Searches of NCBI Databases

Abstract

This project analyzes the results of searches for genes and proteins in the NCBI databases Gene, RefSeq RNA and RefSeq Protein. Corresponding searches were performed using the search programs Entrez and BLAST, and search recall and precision were calculated. The findings demonstrate the different types of result sets that can be expected from using different search programs and settings. Also, some unexpected results indicate that the default search settings are not optimal for all searches; an important aspect of searching which information professionals should remember and communicate to researchers.