Method for defining and optimizing criteria used to detect a contextually specific concept within a paragraph

• US 20030126165A1
• Filed: 08/27/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: E-Base Limited
• Original Assignee: E-Base Limited
• Inventors: Segal, Irit Haviv, Winer, Amir
• Application Number:
  US10/229,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20030126165A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/313 Selection or weighting of terms for indexing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/353 into predefined classes

Abstract

The present invention discloses building blocks necessary for creating a self-populating directory in which individual paragraphs are mapped to folders, each folder being associated with a specific concept or idea. Criterion for specifying a desired context for the associated concept is inherited by hierarchically subordinate files. The inheritance of context criterion greatly simplifies the task of designing a self-populating directory. Also disclosed are routines for optimizing the level of recall and precision of the criterion used to populate the folder.

Claims

1. A methodology for defining a software folder used to construct a self-populating directory, comprising the steps of:

providing a label describing a concept to be associated with the folder; and

providing a folder definition having folder-specific criteria for detecting an expression of the concept and criteria inherited by hierarchically subordinate folders in the directory for detecting the context of the expression.

2. The methodology according to claim 1, wherein at least one Master Phrase is used to specify the criteria inherited by hierarchically subordinate folders in the directory for detecting the context of the expression.

3. The methodology according to claim 1, wherein at least one Stem Phrase is used to specify folder-specific criteria for detecting an expression of the concept.

4. The methodology according to claim 1, wherein said folder definition contains multi-lingual word stems.

5. A tool for optimizing the recall level of a folder definition having folder-specific criteria for detecting an expression of the concept, comprising:

providing a collection of paragraphs;

providing a collection of noise words;

comparing each paragraph in the collection of paragraphs against the folder definition, and extracting from the collection any paragraph not satisfying the folder definition criteria;

extracting noise words contained in the collection of noise words from the collection of paragraphs;

extracting sentences from the collection of paragraphs which do not contain word stems used to specify the criteria for detecting the expression of the concept;

tabulating and outputting the frequency that combinations of one, two, three and four adjacent words occur within the sentences remaining in the collection of paragraphs; and

wherein the user visually examines the frequency table to find combinations indicative of the concept, which are not already detected by the existing stem phrases.

6. A tool for optimizing the precision level of a folder definition having folder-specific criteria for detecting an expression of the concept and criteria inherited by hierarchically subordinate folders in the directory for detecting the context of the expression, comprising:

providing a collection of paragraphs;

comparing each paragraph in the collection of paragraphs against the folder definition, and extracting from the collection any paragraph not satisfying the folder definition criteria;

examine the collection of paragraphs and flag those paragraphs in which the concept appears within an irrelevelant context;

examine the collection of paragraphs to identify word(s) which recur in the flagged paragraphs at a substantially greater incidence than the non-flagged paragraphs, and modify the folder definition to disqualify paragraphs using such word(s);

if no recurring word(s) are detected for excluding the flagged paragraphs from the folder, then identify word stems which recur in the flagged paragraphs at a substantially greater incidence than the non-flagged paragraphs, and amend the folder definition to exclude such word stems;

if no recurring word stem is detected, then identify Proximity Restriction(s) which exclude the flagged paragraphs at a substantially greater incidence than the non-flagged paragraphs, and amend the folder definition to include said Proximity Restriction(s); and

if no suitable Proximity Restriction is detected, then identify Order Restriction(s) which exclude the flagged paragraphs at a substantially greater incidence than the non-flagged paragraphs, and amend the folder definition to include said Order Restriction(s).