Search supporting apparatus, search supporting method and searching program

• US 20040249804A1
• Filed: 05/14/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ito, Yuko, Nakayama, Yasutomo, Hamada, Shinkichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,467,132 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Facilitating a user determination of an exclusion keyword in order to specify an efficient exclusion of an unwanted piece of data when the user narrows searching objects. Exclusion is accomplished in a system having a searching object data storage for storing pieces of searching object data, a searcher for performing a primary narrowing of the search, a common keyword extractor for extracting the common keywords associated with a piece of data, an input/output device for passing a selected keyword selected the extracted common keywords while receiving and displaying a result from an exclusion efficiency calculator. The exclusion efficiency calculator calculates exclusion efficiency and indicates a level of exclusion efficiency of data that is not associated with a selected keyword for an individual common keyword.

Claims

1. ) A searching apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing search object data; and

means for providing information for determining an exclusion keyword to be specified for an efficient exclusion to exclude a piece of data associated with a specified exclusion keyword from pieces of searching object data stored in said storage means.

2. ) The searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said providing means provides, as said information, an exclusion efficiency indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data for an individual keyword associated with said searching object data when said keyword is specified as said exclusion keyword.

3. ) The searching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said exclusion efficiency is calculated, for an individual keyword associated with said searching object data, based on a first parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data in a set of part of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as said exclusion keyword and a second parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data in a set of all of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as said exclusion keyword.

4. ) The searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said exclusion efficiency increases as the value of said first parameter is smaller, and increases as the value of said second parameter is greater.

5. ) The searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency can be set by the user, or automatically set by the computer in accordance with the kind of said searching object data.

6. ) The searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said providing means provides said information in a format of making a difference between the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency clear.

7. ) A searching method comprising the steps of:

extracting a plurality of common keywords associated with a piece of searching object data;

storing said plurality of extracted common keywords into storage means;

accepting a selected keyword selected by a user from said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means;

calculating exclusion efficiency indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data that is not associated with said selected keyword for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword when said common keyword is specified as an exclusion keyword; and

providing said exclusion efficiency to a user.

8. ) The searching method according to claim 7, characterized in that said calculating step comprising calculating said exclusion efficiency, for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword, based on a first parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of data that is associated with said selected keyword when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword and a second parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of all of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword.

9. ) The searching method according to claim 8, wherein said exclusion efficiency increases as the value of said first parameter is smaller, and increases as the value of said second parameter is greater.

10. ) The searching method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of enabling the computer to automatically set the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency in accordance with the kind of said searching object data.

11. ) The searching method according to claim 8, wherein said providing step comprises providing said information in a format of making a difference between the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency clear.

12. ) A program product causing a computer to execute the operations of:

extracting a plurality of common keywords associated with a piece of searching object data;

storing said plurality of extracted common keywords into storage means;

accepting a selected keyword selected by a user from said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means;

calculating exclusion efficiency indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data that is not associated with said selected keyword for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword when said common keyword is specified as an exclusion keyword; and

providing said exclusion efficiency to a user.

13. ) The program product according to claim 12, wherein said calculating operation comprises causing the computer to calculate said exclusion efficiency, for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword, based on a first parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of data that is associated with said selected keyword when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword and a second parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of all of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword.

14. ) The program product according to claim 13, wherein said exclusion efficiency increases as the value of said first parameter is smaller, and increases as the value of said second parameter is greater.

15. ) The program product according to claim 13, further comprising an operation for causing the computer to automatically set the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency in accordance with the kind of said searching object data.

16. ) The program according to claim 13, wherein said providing operation comprises causing the computer to provide said information in a format of making a difference between the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency clear.