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System and method for improving the ranking of information retrieval results for short queries

  • US 5,870,740 A
  • Filed: 09/30/1996
  • Issued: 02/09/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for a computer system, having a CPU and RAM, to retrieve information in response to a query, comprising the steps of:

  • issuing a query on a database;

    identifying a retrieved document based on the query;

    receiving into said RAM said retrieved document and an accompanying variable s having a value corresponding to a relevance-ranking score of said retrieved document;

    receiving into said RAM a variable q having a value corresponding to the number of words in the query and a variable v having a value corresponding to the overlap between the words in said retrieved document and in the query; and

    using said CPU and said variables s, q and v to generate an adjusted score s1 corresponding to the value of said variable s increased by an amount proportional to the value of said variable v, said amount decreasing as the value of said variable q increases.

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