Class-tested and coherent, this textbook teaches classical and web information retrieval, including web search and the related areas of text classification and text clustering from basic concepts. It gives an up-to-date treatment of all aspects of the design and implementation of systems for gathering, indexing, and searching documents; methods for evaluating systems; and an introduction to the use of machine learning methods on text collections. All the important ideas are explained using examples and figures, making it perfect for introductory courses in information retrieval for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in computer science. Based on feedback from extensive classroom experience, the book has been carefully structured in order to make teaching more natural and effective. Slides and additional exercises (with solutions for lecturers) are also available through the book's supporting website to help course instructors prepare their lectures.

In order to be effective for their users, information retrieval (IR) systems should be adapted to the specific needs of particular environments. The huge and growing array of types of information retrieval systems in use today is on display in Understanding Information Retrieval Systems: Management, Types, and Standards, which addresses over 20 typ

Provides an overview and instruction on the evaluation of interactive information retrieval systems with users.

The growth of the Internet and the availability of enormous volumes of data in digital form have necessitated intense interest in techniques to assist the user in locating data of interest. The Internet has over 350 million pages of data and is expected to reach over one billion pages by the year 2000. Buried on the Internet are both valuable nuggets to answer questions as well as a large quantity of information the average person does not care about. The Digital Library effort is also progressing, with the goal of migrating from the traditional book environment to a digital library environment. The challenge to both authors of new publications that will reside on this information domain and developers of systems to locate information is to provide the information and capabilities to sort out the non-relevant items from those desired by the consumer. In effect, as we proceed down this path, it will be the computer that determines what we see versus the human being. The days of going to a library and browsing the new book shelf are being replaced by electronic searching the Internet or the library catalogs. Whatever the search engines return will constrain our knowledge of what information is available. An understanding of Information Retrieval Systems puts this new environment into perspective for both the creator of documents and the consumer trying to locate information.

A collection of papers proposing, developing, and implementing logical IR models. After an introductory chapter on non-classical logic as the appropriate formalism with which to build IR models, papers are divided into groups on three approaches: logical models, uncertainty models, and meta-models. Topics include preferential models of query by navigation, a logic for multimedia information retrieval, logical imaging and probabilistic information retrieval, and an axiomatic aboutness theory for information retrieval. Can be used as a text for a graduate course on information retrieval or database systems, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Chapter 1 places into perspective a total Information Storage and Retrieval System. This perspective introduces new challenges to the problems that need to be theoretically addressed and commercially implemented. Ten years ago commercial implementation of the algorithms being developed was not realistic, allowing theoreticians to limit their focus to very specific areas. Bounding a problem is still essential in deriving theoretical results. But the commercialization and insertion of this technology into systems like the Internet that are widely being used changes the way problems are bounded. From a theoretical perspective, efficient scalability of algorithms to systems with gigabytes and terabytes of data, operating with minimal user search statement information, and making maximum use of all functional aspects of an information system need to be considered. The dissemination systems using persistent indexes or mail files to modify ranking algorithms and combining the search of structured information fields and free text into a consolidated weighted output are examples of potential new areas of investigation. The best way for the theoretician or the commercial developer to understand the importance of problems to be solved is to place them in the context of a total vision of a complete system. Understanding the differences between Digital Libraries and Information Retrieval Systems will add an additional dimension to the potential future development of systems. The collaborative aspects of digital libraries can be viewed as a new source of information that dynamically could interact with information retrieval techniques.

The wealth of information accessible on the Internet has grown exponentially since its advent. This mass of content must be systemically sifted to glean pertinent data, and the utilization of the collective intelligence of other users, or social information retrieval, is an innovative, emerging technique. Social Information Retrieval Systems: Emerging Technologies & Applications for Searching the Web Effectively provides relevant content in the areas of information retrieval systems, services, and research; covering topics such as social tagging, collaborative querying, social network analysis, subjective relevance judgments, and collaborative filtering. Answering the increasing demand for authoritative resources on Internet technologies, this Premier Reference Source will make an indispensable addition to any library collection.

This book is an essential reference to cutting-edge issues and future directions in information retrieval Information retrieval (IR) can be defined as the process of representing, managing, searching, retrieving, and presenting information. Good IR involves understanding information needs and interests, developing an effective search technique, system, presentation, distribution and delivery. The increased use of the Web and wider availability of information in this environment led to the development of Web search engines. This change has brought fresh challenges to a wider variety of users’ needs, tasks, and types of information. Today, search engines are seen in enterprises, on laptops, in individual websites, in library catalogues, and elsewhere. Information Retrieval: Searching in the 21st Century focuses on core concepts, and current trends in the field. This book focuses on: Information Retrieval Models User-centred Evaluation of Information Retrieval Systems Multimedia Resource Discovery Image Users’ Needs and Searching Behaviour Web Information Retrieval Mobile Search Context and Information Retrieval Text Categorisation and Genre in Information Retrieval Semantic Search The Role of Natural Language Processing in Information Retrieval: Search for Meaning and Structure Cross-language Information Retrieval Performance Issues in Parallel Computing for Information Retrieval This book is an invaluable reference for graduate students on IR courses or courses in related disciplines (e.g. computer science, information science, human-computer interaction, and knowledge management), academic and industrial researchers, and industrial personnel tracking information search technology developments to understand the business implications. Intermediate-advanced level undergraduate students on IR or related courses will also find this text insightful. Chapters are supplemented with exercises to stimulate further thinking.

This compilation of original papers on information retrieval presents an overview, covering both general theory and specific methods, of the development and current status of information retrieval systems. Each chapter contains several papers carefully chosen to represent substantive research work that has been carried out in that area, each is preceded by an introductory overview and followed by supported references for further reading.

Blends together traditional and electronic-age views of information retrieval, covering the whole spectrum of storage and retrieval. A fully revised and updated edition of successful text covering many new areas including multimedia IR, user interfaces and digital libraries.