Adaptive search employing entropy based quantitative information measurement
First Claim
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1. A method for performing an adaptive search of a data repository, the method comprising the steps of:
- determining a first searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
determining a second searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
deducing first prompting information for requesting user preferences, the first prompting information comprising ordered first and second searchable attribute labels;
providing the first prompting information to a user;
receiving a first user preference for searching the data repository using the first searchable attribute, the first user preference comprising a first value;
first searching data repository entries according to the first user preference, the first searching producing a first deduced system of data repository entries;
deducing second prompting information for requesting user preferences, the second prompting information comprising reordered first prompting information, the second prompting information comprising the second searchable attribute label;
providing the second prompting information to the user;
receiving a second user preference for searching the data repository using the second searchable attribute, the second user preference comprising a second value;
second searching data repository entries according to the first and second user preferences; and
providing to the user, data repository result information obtained by the second searching step.
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Abstract
An entropy based adaptive search method for searching a database or other repository system or modality whereby an Attribute of an object is presented as a question to a user. The Attributes are presented according to their adjusted entropy values. The user provides an attribute value to the attribute by the act of selecting one question from the questionnaire to begin with. Each time the user selects a question and answers it, a new list of attributes and a new questionnaire is derived based on previous activity. When a threshold number of results has been reached the results are displayed to the user.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for performing an adaptive search of a data repository, the method comprising the steps of:
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determining a first searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
determining a second searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
deducing first prompting information for requesting user preferences, the first prompting information comprising ordered first and second searchable attribute labels;
providing the first prompting information to a user;
receiving a first user preference for searching the data repository using the first searchable attribute, the first user preference comprising a first value;
first searching data repository entries according to the first user preference, the first searching producing a first deduced system of data repository entries;
deducing second prompting information for requesting user preferences, the second prompting information comprising reordered first prompting information, the second prompting information comprising the second searchable attribute label;
providing the second prompting information to the user;
receiving a second user preference for searching the data repository using the second searchable attribute, the second user preference comprising a second value;
second searching data repository entries according to the first and second user preferences; and
providing to the user, data repository result information obtained by the second searching step. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer program product for performing an adaptive search of a data repository, the computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code therein comprising:
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computer readable program code for determining a first searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
computer readable program code for determining a second searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
computer readable program code for deducing first prompting information for requesting user preferences, the first prompting information comprising ordered first and second searchable attribute labels;
computer readable program code for providing the first prompting information to a user;
computer readable program code for receiving a first user preference for searching the data repository using the first searchable attribute, the first user preference comprising a first value;
computer readable program code for first searching data repository entries according to the first user preference, the first searching producing a first deduced system of data repository entries;
computer readable program code for deducing second prompting information for requesting user preferences, the second prompting information comprising reordered first prompting information, the second prompting information comprising the second searchable attribute label;
computer readable program code for providing the second prompting information to the user;
computer readable program code for receiving a second user preference for searching the data repository using the second searchable attribute, the second user preference comprising a second value;
computer readable program code for second searching data repository entries according to the first and second user preferences; and
computer readable program code for providing to the user, data repository result information obtained by the second searching step. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An system for performing an adaptive search, the system comprising:
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a first determiner determining a first searchable attribute of entries in a data repository;
a second determiner determining a second searchable attribute of entries in the data repository;
a first deducer deducing first prompting information for requesting user preferences, the first prompting information comprising ordered first and second searchable attribute labels;
a provider providing the first prompting information to a user;
a receiver receiving a first user preference for searching the data repository using the first searchable attribute, the first user preference comprising a first value;
a first searcher first searching data repository entries according to the first user preference, the first searching producing a first deduced system of data repository entries;
a second deducer deducing second prompting information for requesting user preferences, the second prompting information comprising reordered first prompting information, the second prompting information comprising the second searchable attribute label;
providing the second prompting information to the user;
receiving a second user preference for searching the data repository using the second searchable attribute, the second user preference comprising a second value;
second searching data repository entries according to the first and second user preferences; and
providing to the user, data repository result information obtained by the second searching step.
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38. A method for performing an adaptive search of a data repository, the method comprising the steps of:
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creating a first ordered list of searchable attributes;
presenting to a user a first displayable list comprising a first searchable attribute and a second searchable attribute;
receiving a response from the user, the response indicating a user elected first searchable attribute;
presenting to the user a second displayable list comprising the second searchable attribute, the list excluding user elected searchable attributes, the user elected searchable attributes comprising the first searchable attribute; and
performing a search of the data repository based on user elected searchable attributes.
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39. The method for providing a user group restricted adaptive search interface for searching a data repository, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a group identifier from a user;
beginning an adaptive search session;
determining limitations of data repository searches assigned th the group;
presenting in the session, an ordered list interface to the user, the ordered list comprising searchable attributes according to the limitations;
removing in the session, searchable attributes from the list as they are elected by the user; and
performing a search of the data repository based on user elected searchable attributes.
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Specification