Method for normalizing document metadata to improve search results using an alias relationship directory service

• US 7,228,301 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2003
• Issued: 06/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meyerzon, Dmitriy, Obata, Kenji C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): WEINMAN, SEAN M
• Application Number:
  US10/609,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20040267721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/5, 707/101, 707/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The present invention provides methods, systems, and computer program products for normalizing document search terms through use of an alias database, as may be found in an alias relationship file, such as a directory service. A gatherer module receives as input (or crawls through) several documents in series or in parallel and can recognize data segments as related to one of the aliases in the alias relationship file. The gatherer then associates the document appropriately so that a search engine may find all documents associated with a search term, regardless of whether the term has undergone several name changes (various aliases) over the course of time. Accordingly, a user may then search for a person'"'"'s name, and receive as a search result all documents listing the person'"'"'s name, as well as documents listing, for example, only the person'"'"'s email address.

Claims

1. In a computerized environment, a method of normalizing document data to improve results of search requests, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving a first document containing first document data and a link to a second document, wherein the second document contains second document data;

parsing the first document data into one or more first document segments;

identifying at least one of the one or more first document segments as a first document alias that correlates with a first document datum found in an alias directory service;

associating the received first document with the first document alias so that, upon request for the first document datum through a search engine, the received first document is returned to a requester by association of the first document datum with the first document alias;

parsing the second document data into one or more second document segments;

identifying at least one of the one or more second document segments as a second document alias that correlates with a first document datum found in the alias directory service; and

associating the received second document with the second document alias so that, upon request for the second document datum through the search engine, the received second document is returned to the requester by association of the second document datum with the second document alias.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first document data are metadata, and wherein the first document alias is a document metadatum.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias directory service is a contact database containing one or more aliases for one or more terms associated with one or more corresponding contacts.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the document segment as part of a predefined class and/or a class alias, so that a data request through the search engine returns the requested data to the requester when the requester enters a the identified class, the class alias, and/or the alias.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predefined class and/or class alias is a weighted value for one or more associated terms, a metadata concept, and/or a property type.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising associating a term in an inverted index with a the identified alias and/or the predefined class and/or class alias;

and

storing the inverted index for use by the search engine.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the property type is an authorship property.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein a classification module further implements the method comprising:

identifying a next document containing next document data that can be identified with the class, whereby the class comprises at least the document containing document data and the next document containing next document data; and

based on the document data and the next document data, identifying additional documents within the class, so that the classification module is trained to associate additional documents with the class that would not have otherwise been identified.

9. In a computerized environment, a method of normalizing document data to improve results of search requests, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a first document containing first document data and a link to a second document, wherein the second document contains second document data;

an act of parsing the first document data into one or more first document segments;

an act of receiving the second document containing second document data;

an act of parsing the second document data into one or more second document segments; and

a step for normalizing document metadata used as a reference by a search engine by maintaining one or more relationships between a search term and an alternate search term, a search term property and/or alternative search term property.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

following the link to the second document;

an act of identifying at least one of the first document segments as an alias for a document datum found in an alias directory service; and

an act of associating the received first document with the document alias so that, upon request for the document datum through the search engine, the received first document is returned to the requester by association with the alias.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving, by a gatherer module, directory service data that include one or more aliases for a metadatum.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising parsing the directory service data;

and associating the parsed data with one or more classes so that one or more documents are related by one or more corresponding classes and one or more metadata aliases.

13. A computer program product having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of normalizing document data to improve results of search requests, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving a first document containing first document data and a link to a second document, wherein the second document contains second document data;

parsing the first document data into one or more first document segments;

identifying at least one of the one or more first document segments as a first document alias that correlates with a first document datum found in an alias directory service;

associating the received first document with the first document alias so that, upon request for the first document datum through a search engine, the received first document is returned to a requester by association of the first document datum with the first document alias;

parsing the second document data into one or more second document segments;

identifying at least one of the one or more second document segments as a second document alias that correlates with a first document datum found in the alias directory service; and

associating the received second document with the second document alias so that, upon request for the second document datum through the search engine, the received second document is returned to the requester by association of the second document datum with the second document alias.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the first document data are metadata, and wherein the first document alias is a document metadatum.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the alias directory service is a contact database containing one or more aliases for one or more terms associated with one or more corresponding contacts.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising identifying the first document segment as part of a predefined class and/or a class alias, so that a data request through the search engine returns the requested data to the requester when the requester enters the identified class, the class alias, and/or the alias.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the predefined class and/or class alias is a weighted value for one or more associated terms, a metadata concept, and/or a property type.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising associating a term in an inverted index with the identified alias and the predefined class and/or class alias;

and storing the inverted index for use by the search engine.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the property type is an authorship property.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein a classification module further implements the method comprising:

identifying a next document containing next document data that can be identified with the class, whereby the class comprises at least the document containing document data and the next document containing next document data; and

based on the document data and the next document data, identifying additional documents within the class, so that the classification module is trained to associate additional documents with the class that would not have otherwise been identified.

21. A computer program product having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of normalizing document data to improve results of search requests, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a first document containing first document data and a link to a second document, wherein the second document contains second document data;

an act of parsing the first document data into one or more first document segments;

an act of receiving the second document containing second document data;

an act of parsing the second document data into one or more second document segments; and

a step for normalizing document metadata used as a reference by a search engine by maintaining one or more relationships between a search term and an alternate search term, a search term property and/or alternative search term property.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising:

an act of following the link to the second document;

an act of identifying at least one of the first document segments as an alias for a document datum found in an alias directory service; and

an act of associating the received first document with the document alias so that, upon request for the document datum through the search engine, the received document is returned to the requester by association with the alias.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising receiving, by a gatherer module, directory service data that include one or more aliases for a metadatum.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising parsing the directory service data;

and associating the parsed data with one or more classes so that one or more documents are related by one or more corresponding classes and one or more metadata aliases.