System and method for formulating data search queries

• US 20070179940A1
• Filed: 01/27/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nuix North America Inc. (Nuix Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nuix North America Inc. (Nuix Ltd.)
• Inventors: Walter, Edward, Robinson, Eric
• Application Number:
  US11/341,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20070179940A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for formulating data search queries is presented. A user interface operable to specify an unstructured search criteria for a search query on one or more documents is provided. An input portal is exported to receive a data excerpt selected to be searched against the documents. A selectable inclusiveness control is exported to specify a granularity of inclusion of matching tokens within each document. A selectable proximity control is exported to specify a degree of nearness of the tokens within each document. Tokens derived from the data excerpt and parameters corresponding to the granularity of inclusion and the degree of nearness are compiled into the search query.

Claims

1. A system for formulating data search queries, comprising:

a user interface operable to specify an unstructured search criteria for a search query on one or more documents, comprising;

an input portal to receive a data excerpt selected to be searched against the documents;

a selectable inclusiveness control to specify a granularity of inclusion of matching tokens within each document;

a selectable proximity control to specify a degree of nearness of the tokens within each document; and

a document searcher to compile tokens derived from the data excerpt and parameters corresponding to the granularity of inclusion and the degree of nearness into the search query.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage to maintain the target corpus comprising the documents indexed to facilitate searching; and

a search engine to execute the search query against the documents maintained in the target corpus, wherein search results identified by the search query execution are presented.

3. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a parser to extract the tokens from the data excerpt.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the granularity of inclusiveness on a continuum vary between a Boolean OR operation of all tokens and a Boolean AND operation of all tokens.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein a number of tokens h that must be matched by one or more words in each target document are determined in accordance with the equation:

h=int(N*p+1)

where N is a total number of the tokens and 0.0≦

p<

1.0 is a value representing the granularity of inclusiveness specified through the selectable inclusiveness control.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the degree of nearness on a continuum vary between a span equal to a number of the tokens and a number of terms in each document.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein a span s to be applied and a number of tokens to combine c during searching of each document are determined in accordance with the equations:

8. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a document analyzer to assign weights to terms based on structural location within each document, wherein the search query terms are modified to favor the terms having higher weights over the terms having lower weights.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the higher weights are assigned to the terms occurring in a structural location selected from the group comprising titles, headings, tables of content, and indexes.

10. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a query processor to broaden the tokens, comprising;

a word analyzer to derive a normalized root stem for each token and to identify one or more synonyms for the normalized root stem, wherein the synonyms are conjunctively included with the token in the search query.

11. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a selection control operable to specify at least one of one or more required terms and one or more optional terms in the data excerpt, wherein the search query terms are modified to always include the required terms and to permissively include the optional terms.

12. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an ordering control operable to specify precedence of the tokens, wherein the search query terms are modified to favor the terms having higher precedence.

13. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a search scope control operable to specify documents to be searched, wherein the search query is modified to search the specified documents.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein the selectable inclusiveness control and the selectable proximity control are provided as a one of single selectable controls or combined controls selected from the group comprising rotary or gimbal knobs, slider bars, radio buttons, and user input mechanisms that allow continuous or discrete selection over a fixed range of rotation, movement, or selection.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein the data excerpt comprises at least one of textual data, binary data, and an encapsulated search query.

16. A method for formulating data search queries, comprising:

providing a user interface operable to specify an unstructured search criteria for a search query on one or more documents, comprising;

exporting an input portal to receive a data excerpt selected to be searched against the documents;

exporting a selectable inclusiveness control to specify a granularity of inclusion of matching tokens within each document;

exporting a selectable proximity control to specify a degree of nearness of the tokens within each document; and

compiling tokens derived from the data excerpt and parameters corresponding to the granularity of inclusion and the degree of nearness into the search query.

17. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

maintaining the target corpus comprising the documents indexed to facilitate searching;

executing the search query against the documents maintained in the target corpus; and

presenting search results identified by the search query execution.

18. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

extracting the tokens from the data excerpt.

19. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

varying the granularity of inclusiveness on a continuum between a Boolean OR operation of all tokens and a Boolean AND operation of all tokens.

20. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

determining a number of tokens h that must be matched by one or more words in each target document in accordance with the equation;

h=int(N*p+1)

where N is a total number of the tokens and 0.0≦

p<

1.0 is a value representing the granularity of inclusiveness specified through the selectable inclusiveness control.

21. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

varying the degree of nearness on a continuum between a span equal to a number of the tokens and a number of terms in each document.

22. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

determining a span s to be applied and a number of tokens to combine c during searching of each document in accordance with the equations;

$\begin{array}{c}s=\mathrm{int}<br><br>\left(N*\left(\frac{1}{p^2}-1\right)\right)\\ c=\mathrm{Max}<br><br>\text{\hspace{1em}<br><br>}<br><br>\mathrm{Int}<br><br>\left(2,N*p^2\right)\end{array}$

where N is a number of the tokens and 0.0<

p≦

1.0 is a value representing the degree of nearness specified through the selectable proximity control.

23. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

assigning weights to terms based on structural location within each document; and

modifying the search query terms to favor the terms having higher weights over the terms having lower weights.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the higher weights are assigned to the terms occurring in a structural location selected from the group comprising titles, headings, tables of content, and indexes.

25. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

broadening the tokens, comprising;

deriving a normalized root stem for each token;

identifying one or more synonyms for the normalized root stem; and

conjunctively including the synonyms with the token in the search query.

26. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

exporting a selection control operable to specify at least one of one or more required terms and one or more optional terms in the data excerpt; and

modifying the search query terms to always include the required terms and to permissively include the optional terms.

27. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

exporting an ordering control operable to specify precedence of the tokens; and

modifying the search query terms to favor the terms having higher precedence.

28. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

exporting a search scope control operable to specify documents to be searched; and

limiting the search query to search the specified documents.

29. A method according to claim 16, further comprising:

providing the selectable inclusiveness control and the selectable proximity control as a one of single selectable controls or combined controls selected from the group comprising rotary or gimbal knobs, slider bars, radio buttons, and user input mechanisms that allow continuous or discrete selection over a fixed range of rotation, movement, or selection.

30. A method according to claim 16, wherein the data excerpt comprises at least one of textual data, binary data, and an encapsulated search query.

31. A computer-readable storage medium holding code for performing the method according to claim 16.

32. A system for performing a data search, comprising:

an input interface to process a data excerpt selected to be searched against one or more documents stored in electronic form into search terms;

a document searcher to build a search criteria containing the search terms and parameters indicating at least one of search term inclusion and proximity of matching search terms in the documents; and

an output interface to present search results generated by execution of the search criteria on the documents.

33. A system according to claim 32, wherein the search term inclusion varies on a continuum between a Boolean OR operation of all tokens and a Boolean AND operation of all tokens.

34. A system according to claim 32, wherein the proximity of matching search terms varies on a continuum between a span equal to a number of the search terms and a number of overall terms appearing in each document.

35. A system according to claim 34, wherein the data excerpt comprises at least one of textual data, binary data, and an encapsulated search query.

36. A system according to claim 32, wherein the documents are selected from the group comprising books, manuscripts, published materials, email, personal correspondence, notes, instant messaging, textual content, spreadsheets, databases, and object libraries.

37. A method for performing a data search, comprising:

processing a data excerpt selected to be searched against one or more documents stored in electronic form into search terms;

building a search criteria containing the search terms and parameters indicating at least one of search term inclusion and proximity of matching search terms in the documents; and

presenting search results generated by execution of the search criteria on the documents.

38. A method according to claim 37, further comprising:

varying the search term inclusion on a continuum between a Boolean OR operation of all tokens and a Boolean AND operation of all tokens.

39. A method according to claim 37, further comprising:

varying the proximity of matching search terms on a continuum between a span equal to a number of the search terms and a number of overall terms appearing in each document.

40. A method according to claim 39, wherein the data excerpt comprises at least one of textual data, binary data, and an encapsulated search query.

41. A method according to claim 37, wherein the documents are selected from the group comprising books, manuscripts, published materials, email, personal correspondence, notes, instant messaging, textual content, spreadsheets, databases, and object libraries.

42. A computer-readable storage medium holding code for performing the method according to claim 37.