IDENTIFYING THE ITEMS MOST RELEVANT TO A CURRENT QUERY BASED ON ITEMS SELECTED IN CONNECTION WITH SIMILAR QUERIES
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Abstract
The present invention provides a software facility for identifying the items most relevant to a current query based on items selected in connection with similar queries. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the facility receives a query specifying one or more query terms. In response, the facility generates a query result identifying a plurality of items that satisfy the query. The facility then produces a ranking value for at least a portion of the items identified in the query result by combining the relative frequencies with which users selected that item from the query results generated from queries specifying each of the terms specified by the query. The facility identifies as most relevant those items having the highest ranking values.
23 Citations
43 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A method in a computing system for ranking items in a query result, the method comprising:
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receiving a query specifying one or more terms;
generating a query result identifying items satisfying the query;
for each of the items identified in the query result, combining ratings reflecting both (a) the frequencies with which users selected the item in query results produced for earlier queries specifying one or more terms of the query and (b) levels of effort required to make such selections, such that the combination of ratings produces a ranking value for the item; and
displaying the items identified by the generated query result in accordance with their produced ranking values. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for compiling statistics usable to rank items in a distinguished query result produced for a distinguished query, by a method comprising:
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receiving a rating set of queries, each query in the rating set specifying one or more terms;
for each query in the rating set, generating a query result identifying one or more items satisfying the query;
allowing a user to select one or more of the items identified in the query result; and
for items selected from the query result, for terms specified by the query, determining an adjustment factor indicating the level of effort necessary to effectuate selection of the item;
adjusting a rating score corresponding to the combination of the selected item and the term specified by the query by the determined adjustment factor; and
storing the rating score. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. One or more computer memories collectively containing a user behavior data structure usable to rank the relevance of items in a query result, the data structure comprising:
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a plurality of rating scores, wherein each rating score corresponds both to a query term and to an item, and reflects quantitatively the extent to which users have selected the item from query results generated for earlier queries specifying the query term and the level of effort required to make such selections, such that the data structure may be used to rank items in a distinguished query result produced for a distinguished query by, for each item in the distinguished query result, retrieving from the data structure the rating scores corresponding to the item and any term specified in the distinguished query and combining the retrieved rating scores to generate a ranking value for the item. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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41. A method in a computing system for ranking items in a query result, the method comprising:
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receiving a query specifying one or more terms;
generating a query result identifying items satisfying the query;
for each of the items identified in the query result, generating a ranking value reflecting both (a) the number of users that selected the item in query results produced for earlier queries specifying one or more terms of the query and (b) a measure of the difficulty of making such selections; and
displaying the items identified by the generated query result in accordance with their generated ranking values.
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42. A method in a computing system for ranking items in a query result, the method comprising:
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receiving a query specifying one or more terms;
generating a query result identifying a plurality of items satisfying the query;
for a plurality of items identified in the query result, combining ratings of frequencies with which users selected the item in earlier queries specifying either (a) one or more terms of the query or (b) a term sharing a root with a term of the query to produce a ranking value for the item; and
displaying the items identified by the generated query result in accordance with their produced ranking values.
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43. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system to rank items in a query result by:
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receiving a query specifying one or more terms;
generating a query result identifying a plurality of items satisfying the query;
for a plurality of items identified in the query result, combining ratings of frequencies with which users selected the item in earlier queries specifying either (a) one or more terms of the query or (b) a term sharing a root with a term of the query to produce a ranking value for the item; and
displaying the items identified by the generated query result in accordance with their produced ranking values.
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Specification