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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 3
Publication Date: March 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.93.11980. Kang, N. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four Corpora. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
9(3). 168-178.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four
Corpora
Namkil Kang
Fra East University, South Korea
ABSTRACT
The main goal of this paper is to compare search for and look for in the TV Corpus
(TVC), the Movie Corpus (MC), the Corpus of Contemporary American English
(COCA), and the British National Corpus (BNC). When it comes to the TV Corpus, it is
interesting to point out that look for was preferable to search for in the TV programs
of America, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. A further point to
note is that the frequency of search for (1,898 tokens) and look for (5,423 tokens)
reached a peak in the 2010s. With respect to the Movie Corpus, it is interesting to
note that look for was favored over search for in the movies of six countries. More
interestingly, search for (515 tokens) and look for (2,259 tokens) reached a peak in
the 2010s. The COCA clearly shows that search for truth (369 tokens) and look for
ways (566 tokens) are the most preferred by Americans. It is significant to note, on
the other hand, that 36.36% of forty four nouns are the collocations of both search
for and look for in the COCA. Similarly, the BNC shows that search for evidence (19
tokens) is the most commonly used one in the UK, whereas look for work (34 tokens)
is the most widely used one. Finally, it is noteworthy that 17.64% of fifty one nouns
are the collocations of both search for and look for in the BNC.
Keywords: TV Corpus, Movie Corpus, COCA, BNC, search for, look for
INTRODUCTION
As Murphy (2016, 2019) points out, search for and look for are synonyms that are used
interchangeably. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of search
for and look for in the TV Corpus, the Movie Corpus, the Corpus of Contemporary American
English, and the British National Corpus. First, I consider the diachronic aspects of search for
and look for in the TV Corpus and the Movie Corpus. Second, I examine the collocations of search
for and look for in the COCA and BNC. Third, I consider how much search for and look for are
related to each other. The organization of this paper is as follows. In section 2, I show that look
for was preferable to search for in the TV programs of America, the UK, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, and Ireland. Interestingly, the frequency of search for (1,898 tokens) and look for
(5,423 tokens) reached a peak in the 2010s. In section 3, I further argue that look for was
favored over search for in the movies of six countries. More interestingly, search for (515
tokens) and look for (2,259 tokens) reached a peak in the 2010s. In section 4.1, I maintain that
search for truth (369 tokens) and look for ways (566 tokens) are the most preferred by
Americans. More interestingly, 36.36% of forty four nouns are the collocations of both search
for and look for in the COCA. In section 4.2. I argue that search for evidence (19 tokens) is the
most commonly used one in the UK, whereas look for work (34 tokens) is the most widely used
one. Finally, it is worth mentioning that 17.64% of fifty one nouns are the collocations of both
search for and look for in the BNC.
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Kang, N. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four Corpora. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 168-178.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.11980
THE TV CORPUS
In what follows, we provide a diachronic analysis of search for and look for in the TV Corpus.
Also, we consider which type is the preferable one for six countries’ celebs. The following Table
indicates the frequency of search for and look for in the TV Corpus:
Table 1 Frequency of search for and look for in the TV Corpus
Type Search for Look for
1950s 12 52
1960s 217 445
1970s 74 397
1980s 136 574
1990s 388 1,153
2000s 951 3,101
2010s 1,898 5,423
All 3,676 11,145
US/CA 2,820 9,119
UK/IE 712 1,752
AU/NZ 96 168
Misc 48 106
It is significant to note that look for was favored over search for in the TV programs of America,
the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. The overall frequency of search for is 3,676
tokens, whereas that of look for is 11,145 tokens. The frequency of look for is three times higher
(11,145 tokens vs. 3,676 tokens) than that of search for. This in turn suggests that look for was
preferred over search for by six countries’ celebs. The following graph shows the diachronic
aspects of search for and look for (1950s-2010s):
Figure 1 Frequency of search for and look for in the TV Corpus
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Frequency
Year
Search for Look for
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There was a gradual rise (205 tokens) in the figure of search for from the 1950s to the 1960s.
Interestingly, there was a sudden decline of 143 tokens in the 1970s. More importantly, there
was a sharp increase (a rise of 1,824 tokens from the 1970s to the 2010s) in the figure of search
for after the 1970s. More interestingly, the figure of search for reached a peak (1,898 tokens) in
the 2010s. This in turn implies that search for was the most preferable one for six countries’
celebs in the 2010s. It is interesting to point out, on the other hand, that search for had the
lowest frequency (12 tokens) in the 1950s. This in turn indicates that search for was the least
preferred type in the 1950s. It would be worth mentioning that search for was the most
preferred by American and Canadian celebs (2,820 tokens), followed by British and Irish ones
(712 tokens), and Australian and New Zealand ones (96 tokens), in that order.
It is worth pointing out that there was a sharp increase (a rise of 393 tokens) in the figure of
look for from the 1950s to the 1960s. Interestingly, there was a sudden decrease (a decline of
48 tokens) in the figure of look for in the 1970s. Perhaps most interestingly, there was a
dramatic increase (a rise of 5,026 tokens) in the figure of look for from the 1970s to the 2010s.
Most importantly, look for had the highest frequency (5,423 tokens) in the 2010s. This in turn
implies that six countries’ celebs preferred look for the most in the 2010s. It is worthwhile
noting that look for had the lowest frequency (52 tokens) in the 1950s. This in turn indicates
that look for was the least preferred one (52 tokens) in the 1950s. It is important to note that
look for was always preferred over search for by six countries’ celebs from the 1950s to the
2010s. Additionally, it is worth noting that look for was the most preferred by American and
Canadian celebs, followed by British and Irish celebs, and Australian and New Zealand celebs,
in descending order. We thus conclude that look for was always favored over search for in the
TV programs of six countries.
THE MOVIE CORPUS
In the following, we provide a diachronic analysis of search for and look for in the Movie Corpus.
Table 2 shows the frequency of search for and look for in the Movie Corpus:
Table 2 Frequency of search for and look for in the Movie Corpus
Type Search for Look for
1930s 27 230
1940s 55 378
1950s 92 457
1960s 62 387
1970s 80 445
1980s 85 545
1990s 174 939
2000s 499 1,971
2010s 515 2,259
All 1,589 7,611
US/CA 1,147 5,746
UK/IE 272 1,006
AU/NZ 25 131
Misc 145 728
It is important to note that look for was favored over search for in the movies of America, the
UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. To be more specific, the overall frequency of
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Kang, N. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four Corpora. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 168-178.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.11980
search for is 1,589 tokens, whereas that of look for is 7,611 tokens. This in turn shows that look
for was preferred over search for by six countries’ movie writers. The following graph shows
the diachronic aspects of search for and look for in the Movie Corpus:
Figure 2 Frequency of search for and look for in the Movie Corpus
Interestingly, there was a steady rise (65 tokens) in the figure of search for from the 1930s to
the 1950s. However, there was a sudden decrease (a decline of 30 tokens) in the figure of search
for in the 1960s. More interestingly, there was a gradual increase (a rise of 453 tokens) in the
figure of search for from the 1960s to the 2010s. It is significant to note that search for had the
highest frequency (515 tokens) in the 2010s. This in turn indicates that search for was the most
preferred by six countries’ movie writers in the 2010s. It is interesting to note, on the other
hand, that search for had the lowest frequency (27 tokens) in the 1930s. Most importantly,
search for was the most preferred by American and Canadian movie writers, followed by British
and Irish ones, and Australian and New Zealand ones, in that order. We thus conclude that look
for was always favored over search for in the movies of six countries from the 1930s to the
2010s.
Interestingly, there was a gradual increase (a rise of 227 tokens) in the figure of look for from
the 1930s to the 1950s. There was a slight decline (a decrease of 70 tokens) in the figure of look
for in the 1960s. More importantly, there was a dramatic increase (a rise of 1,872 tokens) in the
figure of look for from the 1960s to the 2010s. It is significant to note that look for had the
highest frequency (2,259 tokens) in the 2010s, whereas it had the lowest frequency (230
tokens) in the 1930s. This in turn suggests that look for was the most preferred one in the 2010s,
whereas it was the least preferred one in the 1930s. It is noteworthy that look for was the most
preferred by American and Canadian movie writers (5,746 tokens), followed by British and
Irish ones (1,006 tokens), and Australian and New Zealand ones (131 tokens), in descending
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Frequency
Year
Search for Look for
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order. We thus conclude that look for was always preferable to search for in the movies of six
countries.
A COLLOCATION ANALYSIS OF SEARCH FOR AND LOOK FOR IN THE COCA AND THE BNC
The Collocation of Search for and Look for in the COCA
In what follows, we aim to consider the collocations of search for and look for in the COCA. Also,
we examine the difference between the collocations of search for and look for in the top 30.
Table 3 shows the collocation of search for in the COCA:
Table 3 Collocation of search for in the COCA
Number Collocation of search for Frequency
1 Search for truth 369
2 Search for answers 234
3 Search for meaning 163
4 Search for life 152
5 Search for evidence 148
6 Search for information 140
7 Search for ways 118
8 Search for survivors 112
9 Search for food 95
10 Search for clues 89
11 Search for identity 84
12 Search for signs 76
13 Search for solutions 76
14 Search for peace 73
15 Search for knowledge 67
16 Search for justice 57
17 Search for love 56
18 Search for weapons 46
19 Search for water 45
20 Search for alternatives 44
21 Search for planets 42
22 Search for happiness 41
23 Search for jobs 40
24 Search for work 40
25 Search for self 33
26 Search for gold 32
27 Search for security 31
28 Search for people 29
29 Search for oil 28
30 Search for victims 28
It is important to note that search for truth is the most widely used one (369 tokens) in America.
This in turn suggests that search for truth is the most preferable one (369 tokens) for
Americans. As alluded to in Table 3, search for truth is the most preferred by Americans,
followed by search for answers, search for meaning, search for life, search for evidence, search for
information, search for ways, and search for survivors, in descending order. It is interesting to
note that search for answers ranks second (234 tokens) in the COCA. It is worth pointing out, on
the other hand, that search for information ranks sixth (140 tokens) in the COCA. More
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Kang, N. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four Corpora. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 168-178.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.11980
interestingly, search for ways ranks seventh (118 tokens) in the COCA and search for survivors
ranks eighth (112 tokens). We thus conclude that search for truth is the most preferable one
(369 tokens) for Americans.
Now attention is paid to the collocation of look for in the COCA:
Table 4 Collocation of look for in the COCA
Number Collocation of look for Frequency
1 Look for ways 566
2 Look for work 336
3 Look for signs 192
4 Look for evidence 131
5 Look for opportunities 130
6 Look for things 126
7 Look for people 120
8 Look for answers 111
9 Look for clues 107
10 Look for patterns 88
11 Look for help 78
12 Look for solutions 75
13 Look for information 72
14 Look for jobs 66
15 Look for products 66
16 Look for trouble 57
17 Look for life 56
18 Look for food 53
19 Look for companies 50
20 Look for places 49
21 Look for alternatives 46
22 Look for updates 42
23 Look for reasons 40
24 Look for love 36
25 Look for inspiration 31
26 Look for water 31
27 Look for areas 30
28 Look for shoes 28
29 Look for survivors 27
30 Look for changes 24
It is significant to note that look for ways is the most frequently used one (566 tokens) in
America. This in turn implies that look for ways is the most preferred by Americans. As
illustrated in Table 4, look for ways (566 tokens) is the most preferable one among Americans,
followed by look for work, look for signs, look for evidence, look for opportunities, look for things,
look for people, and look for answers, in that order. It is probably worthwhile pointing out that
look for ways ranks first (566 tokens) in the COCA, whereas search for ways ranks seventh (118
tokens). It should be pointed out, on the other hand, that look for work ranks second (336
tokens) in the COCA, whereas search for work ranks twentieth (40 tokens). More importantly,
look for answers ranks eighth (111 tokens) in the COCA, whereas search for answers ranks
second (234 tokens). Finally, the everyday expression look for information ranks thirteenth (72
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Kang, N. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four Corpora. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 168-178.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.11980
Table 5 Collocation of search for in the BNC
Number Collocation of search for Frequency
1 Search for evidence 19
2 Search for food 18
3 Search for clues 16
4 Search for truth 15
5 Search for peace 14
6 Search for information 13
7 Search for work 11
8 Search for knowledge 10
9 Search for solutions 9
10 Search for ways 9
11 Search for alternatives 8
12 Search for signs 7
13 Search for meaning 6
14 Search for meteorites 6
15 Search for survivors 6
16 Search for jobs 5
17 Search for order 5
18 Search for explanations 4
19 Search for employment 4
20 Search for drugs 4
21 Search for dignity 4
22 Search for beauty 4
23 Search for gold 4
24 Search for happiness 4
25 Search for justice 4
26 Search for money 4
27 Search for quality 4
28 Search for causes 3
29 Search for co-ordination 3
30 Search for answers 3
It is interesting to point out that search for evidence is the most commonly used one (19 tokens)
in the UK. This in turn shows that search for evidence (19 tokens) is the most preferred by the
British. As indicated in Table 5, search for evidence is the most preferable one among the British,
followed by search for food, search for clues, search for truth, search for peace, search for
information, search for work, and search for knowledge, in that order. It is significant to note that
search for evidence ranks fifth (131 tokens) in the COCA, whereas it ranks first (19 tokens) in
the BNC. It is worthwhile noting, on the other hand, that search for food ranks ninth (95 tokens)
in the COCA, whereas it ranks second (18 tokens) in the BNC. More interestingly, search for
truth ranks first (369 tokens) in the COCA, whereas it ranks fourth (15 tokens) in the BNC.
Finally, it must be pointed out that search for information ranks sixth in the COCA (140 tokens)
and BNC (13 tokens). We thus conclude that search for evidence is the most preferred one in the
UK.
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Now let us turn our attention to the collocation of look for in the top 30:
Table 6 Collocation of look for in the BNC
Number Collocation of look for Frequency
1 Look for work 34
2 Look for ways 31
3 Look for evidence 18
4 Look for signs 12
5 Look for food 10
6 Look for patterns 10
7 Look for jobs 9
8 Look for guidance 7
9 Look for information 7
10 Look for opportunities 7
11 Look for help 6
12 Look for clues 5
13 Look for things 5
14 Look for differences 4
15 Look for accommodation 4
16 Look for Mr 4
17 Look for reasons 4
18 Look for change 3
19 Look for allies 3
20 Look for bargains 3
21 Look for books 3
22 Look for bones 3
23 Look for areas 3
24 Look for ideas 3
25 Look for models 3
26 Look for people 3
27 Look for solutions 3
28 Look for trouble 3
29 Look for adventure 2
30 Look for advertisements 2
It is worth observing that look for work is the most widely used one (34 tokens) in the UK. This
in turn shows that look for work is the most preferable one (the highest frequency) for the
British. As illustrated in Table 6, look for work is the most preferred by the British, followed by
look for ways, look for evidence, look for signs, look for food (look for patterns), and look for jobs,
in that order. It is noteworthy that look for work ranks first (34 tokens) in the BNC, whereas
search for work ranks seventh (11 tokens). It should be noted, on the other hand, that look for
ways ranks second (31 tokens) in the BNC, whereas search for ways ranks ninth (9 tokens).
More interestingly, look for information ranks eighth (7 tokens) in the BNC, whereas search for
information ranks sixth (13 tokens). Finally, look for solutions ranks twenty seventh (3 tokens)
in the BNC, whereas search for solutions ranks ninth (9 tokens). We thus conclude that look for
work and search for evidence are the most preferable ones in the UK.
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Kang, N. (2022). A Comparative Analysis of Search for and Look for in Four Corpora. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(3). 168-178.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.11980
Now let us turn to the visualization of the collocations of search for and look for:
Figure 4 Visualization of the collocations of search for and look for in the BNC
As indicated in Figure 4, twenty one nouns are linked to search for and look for, respectively. On
the other hand, nine nouns are linked to both search for and look for. The nine nouns are work,
ways, evidence, signs, food, jobs, information, clues, and solutions and they are the collocations of
both search for and look for. This in turn indicates that 17.64% of fifty one nouns are the
collocations of both search for and look for. From this, it is evident that search for and look for
are low similarity synonyms.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, I have compared search for and look for in four corpora. In section 2, I have argued
that look for was favored over search for in the TV programs of America, the UK, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Interestingly, search for (1,898 tokens) and look for (5,423
tokens) had the highest frequency in the 2010s. In section 3, I have further argued that look for
was preferred over search for by six countries’ movie writers. More interestingly, search for
(515 tokens) and look for (2,259 tokens) had the highest frequency in the 2010s. In section 4.1,
I have maintained that search for truth (369 tokens) and look for ways(566 tokens) are the most
preferable ones for Americans. I have also maintained that 36.36% of forty four nouns are the
collocations of both search for and look for in the COCA. In section 4.2. I have shown that search
for evidence (19 tokens) is the most commonly used one in the UK, whereas look for work (34
tokens) is the most widely used one. Finally, I have shown that 17.64% of fifty one nouns are
the collocations of both search for and look for in the BNC.
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References
British National Corpus (BNC). 2, January 2022. Online https://corpus.byu.edu/bnc
Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). 2, January 2022. Online https://corpus.byu.edu/coca
Movie Corpus (MC). 2, January 2022. Online https://english-corpora.org /movies/
Murphy, R. (2016). Grammar in Use. Cambridge University Press.
Murphy, R. (2019). English Grammar in Use. Cambridge University Press.
TV Corpus (TVC). 2, January 2022. Online https://english-corpora.org /tv/