System and method for measuring the quality of document sets

• US 8,051,084 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2008
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle OTC Subsidiary LLC (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Endeca Technologies Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Wehner, Paul Alexander, Tunkelang, Daniel, Zelevinsky, Vladimir, Wang, Joyce Jeanpin
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene; John E
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHILLIPS, III, ALBERT M
• Application Number:
  US12/146,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20090006385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 707/776, 707/777, 707/737, 707/E17.046
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3331 Query processing

Abstract

Systems and methods are described that calculate the interestingness of a set of one or more records in a database, either absolutely (i.e., compared to an overall collection of records) or relative to some other set of records. In one embodiment, the measure is a relative entropy value that has been normalized. Various applications of the measure are described in the context of an information retrieval system. These applications include, for example, guiding query interpretation, guiding view selection and summarization, intelligent ranges, event detection, concept triggers and interpreting user actions, hierarchy discovery, and adaptive data mining.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for identifying interesting characteristics within a collection of information, the method comprising the acts of:

analyzing, by a computer system a collection of information for at least one identifying characteristic;

measuring, by the computer system, distinctiveness of a set based on a statistical distribution of the at least one identifying characteristic, wherein the set comprises a plurality of elements within the collection of information, and wherein the plurality of elements are associated with the at least one identifying characteristic;

identifying, by the computer system, a variation in the measurement of distinctiveness of the set with respect to at least one additional dimension, wherein the act of identifying the variation in the measurement of distinctiveness of the set includes determining a change in the measurement of distinctiveness for the set relative to a range of values for the at least one additional dimension; and

grouping, by the computer system, at least one element of the collection of information based on the identified variation of the measurement of distinctiveness of the set.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of selecting an identifying characteristic as the at least one additional dimension, based in part, on having a property adapted to partitioning.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a value for the identifying characteristics comprises at least one of numerical, spatial, and ordinal values.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one additional dimension comprises at least one of price, quantity, time, and location.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of generating a partition on the collection of information based on the act of grouping.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the act of generating the partition on the collection of information includes an act of comparing the measurement of the distinctiveness against a measurement of distinctiveness of another partition.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the acts of:

generating a plurality of partitions; and

maximizing the distinctiveness of the plurality of partitions relative to each other.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of detecting an event based on the act of identifying.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the act of detecting an event includes calculation of at least one further distinctiveness measurement.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising selection of at least one element of the collection of information to represent the detected event.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of establishing at least one range for the collection of information.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising an act of refining the at least one range based on a comparison of a measurement of the distinctiveness of another range.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising an act of organizing the collection of information based on the at least one range.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising act of:

adding an additional element to the collection of information; and

incorporating the additional element into the established ranges.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising acts of:

adding an additional element to the collection of information; and

recalculating the established ranges.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of approximating the statistical distribution of at least one identifying characteristic.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of measuring the distinctiveness includes an act of assigning a weight value associated with at least one identifying characteristic.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of measuring the distinctiveness includes the measure of distinctiveness of the set against the collection of information.

19. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of normalizing the measurement of distinctiveness.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of measuring the distinctiveness further comprises an act of modifying a size of a set, and wherein the measuring of distinctiveness occurs against the modified set.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of measuring the distinctiveness includes an act of comparing the statistical distribution of at least one identifying characteristic against a baseline statistical distribution.

22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of generating a set of results through interaction with a collection of information.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the analysis of the collection of information occurs against the set of results.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the act of grouping at least one element of the collection of information is based on the identified variation of the measurement of distinctiveness within the set of results.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method for identifying interesting characteristics within a collection of information, the method comprising the acts of:

analyzing a collection of information for at least one identifying characteristic;

measuring distinctiveness of a set based on a statistical distribution of the at least one identifying characteristic, wherein the set comprises a plurality of elements within the collection of information, and wherein the plurality of elements are associated with the at least one identifying characteristic;

identifying a variation in the measurement of distinctiveness of the set with respect to at least one additional dimension, wherein the act of identifying the variation in the measurement of distinctiveness of the set includes determining a change in the measurement of distinctiveness for the set relative to a range of values for the at least one additional dimension; and

grouping at least one element of the collection of information based on the identified variation of the measurement of distinctiveness.

26. A system for identifying interesting characteristics within a collection of information, the system comprising:

at least one processor operatively connected to a memory, the processor configured to execute system engines from the memory;

an analysis engine adapted to determine at least one identifying characteristic within a collection of information;

a measurement engine adapted to determine a measurement of distinctiveness of a set based on a statistical distribution of the at least one identifying characteristic, wherein the set comprises a plurality of elements within the collection of information, and wherein the plurality of elements are associated with the at least one identifying characteristic;

a tracking engine adapted to evaluate the measurement of distinctiveness of the set with respect to an additional dimension, wherein the tracking engine is further adapted to identify a variation in the measurement of distinctiveness of the set relative to a range of values for the additional dimension;

an organization engine adapted to organize at least one element of the collection of information based on the variation of the measurement of distinctiveness of the set over the range of values for the additional dimension.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the analysis engine is further adapted to select an identifying characteristic as the at least one additional dimension, based in part, on having a property adapted to partitioning.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein a value for the identifying characteristic comprises at least one of numerical, spatial, and ordinal values.

29. The system according to claim 26, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to generate a partition on the collection of information.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to compare the measurement of the distinctiveness against a measurement of distinctiveness of another partition.

31. The system according to claim 30, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to generate a plurality of partitions, and maximize the distinctiveness of the plurality of partitions relative to each other.

32. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a detection engine adapted to detect an event based on the act of identifying.

33. The system according to claim 32, wherein the measurement engine is further adapted to calculate at least one other distinctiveness measurement.

34. The system according to claim 32, wherein the detection engine is further adapted to select at least one element of the collection of information to represent the detected event.

35. The system according to claim 26, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to establish at least one range for the collection of information.

36. The system according to claim 35, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to refine the at least one range based on a comparison of a measurement of the distinctiveness of another range.

37. The system according to claim 35, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to organize the collection of information based on the at least one range.

38. The system according to claim 37, further comprising an input engine adapted to receive an additional element into the collection of information, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to incorporate the additional element into the established ranges.

39. The system according to claim 37, further comprising an input engine adapted to receive an additional element into the collection of information, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to recalculate the established ranges.

40. The system according to claim 26, further comprising an approximation engine adapted to approximate the statistical distribution of at least one identifying characteristic.

41. The system according to claim 26, wherein the measurement engine is further adapted to assigning a weight value associated with at least one identifying characteristic.

42. The system according to claim 26, wherein the measurement engine is further adapted to compare the measure of distinctiveness of the set against the collection of information.

43. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a normalization engine adapted to normalizing the measurement of distinctiveness.

44. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a generation engine adapted to modify a size of a set, and wherein the measurement engine is further adapted to determine distinctiveness against the modified set.

45. The system according to claim 26, wherein the measurement engine is further adapted to compare the statistical distribution of at least one identifying characteristic against a baseline statistical distribution.

46. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a results engine adapted to generate a set of results through interaction with a collection of information.

47. The system according to claim 46, wherein the analysis engine is further adapted to analyze the collection of information against the set of results.

48. The system according to claim 47, wherein the organization engine is further adapted to organize the at least one element of the collection of information based on the identified variation of the at least one identifying characteristic within the set of results.