Term position ranking: some new test results

ABSTRACT

Presents seven sets of laboratory results testing variables in term position ranking which produce a phrase effect by weighting the distance between proximate terms. Results of the 73 tests conducted by this project are included, covering variant term position algorithms, sentence boundaries, stopword counting, every pairs testing, field selection, and combinations of algorithm including collection frequency, record frequency and searcher weighted. The discussion includes the results of tests by Fagan and by Croft, the need for term stemming, proximity as a precision device, comparisons with Boolean, and the quality of test collections.

REFERENCES

• 1: E. Michael Keen, The use of term position devices in ranked output experiments, Journal of Documentation, v.47 n.1, p.1-22, March 1991 [doi>10.1108/eb026869]
• 2: KEEN, E. M. The effect of stemming strength on the effectiveness of output ranking. In Informatics 11 Conference Proceedings, Aslib, 1991, 37-50
• 3: KEEN, E. M. The effectiveness of term position and frequency for output ranking. In Proceedings of the British Computer Society 13th Information Retrieval Colloquium, University of Lancaster, 1991, 22-37
• 4: E. Michael Keen, Presenting results of experimental retrieval comparisons, Information Processing and Management: an International Journal, v.28 n.4, p.491-502, July-Aug. 1992 [doi>10.1016/0306-4573(92)90006-L]
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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.3 Information Search and Retrieval
          Subjects: Query formulation

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.3 Information Search and Retrieval
          Subjects: Selection process

General Terms:
Algorithms, Measurement, Performance