Search supporting apparatus and method utilizing exclusion keywords

• US 8,375,027 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 02/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nakayama, Yasutomo, Hamada, Shinkichi, Ito, Yuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Singh, Amresh
• Application Number:
  US12/334,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20090157669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,523 Days
• Field of Search: 707/999.003, 707/736, 709/203, 704/1
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Facilitating a user determination of an exclusion keyword in order to specify an efficient exclusion of an unwanted piece of data when the user narrows searching objects. Exclusion is accomplished in a system having a searching object data storage for storing pieces of searching object data, a searcher for performing a primary narrowing of the search, a common keyword extractor for extracting the common keywords associated with a piece of data, an input/output device for passing a selected keyword selected the extracted common keywords while receiving and displaying a result from an exclusion efficiency calculator. The exclusion efficiency calculator calculates exclusion efficiency and indicates a level of exclusion efficiency of data that is not associated with a selected keyword for an individual common keyword.

Claims

1. A searching apparatus comprising:

a storage unit for storing search object data; and

a providing unit for providing information for a first exclusion keyword to be specified for an efficient exclusion to exclude a piece of data associated with a specified second exclusion keyword from pieces of searching object data stored in said storage means;

wherein the providing unit utilizes the first exclusion keyword, the second exclusion keyword, a searching object population set, and a calculation of a set of document data in which the first exclusion keyword or the second exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set and determines a first set, a second set and a third set;

wherein the first set comprises a set of document data in which the second exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set;

wherein the second set comprises a set of document data in which the first exclusion keyword appears in the first set;

wherein the third set comprises a set of document data in which the first exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set;

wherein the providing unit provides information for the first exclusion keyword based on a combination of a first term and a second term;

wherein the first term comprises a ratio of a difference and a number of elements in the first set, the difference being between a number of elements in the first set and a number of elements in the second set;

wherein the second term comprises a ratio of a number of elements in the third set and a number of elements in the searching object population set;

wherein the first term is adjusted by a first weight, and wherein the second term is adjusted by a second weight;

wherein the sum of the first weight and the second weight is 1.

2. The searching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said providing unit provides, as said information, an exclusion efficiency indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data for an individual keyword associated with said searching object data when said keyword is specified as said exclusion keyword.

3. The searching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said exclusion efficiency is calculated, for an individual keyword associated with said searching object data, based on a first parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data in a set of part of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as said exclusion keyword and a second parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data in a set of all of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as said exclusion keyword.

4. The searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said exclusion efficiency increases as the value of said first parameter is smaller, and increases as the value of said second parameter is greater.

5. The searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency can be set by the user, or automatically set by the computer in accordance with the kind of said searching object data.

6. The searching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said providing unit provides said information in a format of making a difference between the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency clear.

7. A searching method comprising the steps of:

extracting a plurality of common keywords associated with a piece of searching object data;

storing said plurality of extracted common keywords into storage means;

accepting a selected keyword selected by a user from said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means;

calculating exclusion efficiency indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data that is not associated with said selected keyword for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword when said common keyword is specified as an exclusion keyword; and

providing said exclusion efficiency to a user;

wherein said calculating exclusion efficiency utilizes the selection keyword, the exclusion keyword, a searching object population set, and a calculation of a set of document data in which the selection keyword or the exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set and determines a first set, a second set and a third set;

wherein the first set comprises a set of document data in which the selection keyword appears in the searching object population set;

wherein the second set comprises a set of document data in which the exclusion keyword appears in the first set;

wherein the third set comprises a set of document data in which the exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set;

wherein said calculating exclusion efficiency is based on a combination of a first term and a second term;

wherein the first term comprises a ratio of a difference and a number of elements in the first set, the difference being between a number of elements in the first set and a number of elements in the second set;

wherein the second term comprises a ratio of a total number of elements in the third set and a total number of elements in the searching object population set;

wherein the first term is adjusted by a first weight, and wherein the second term is adjusted by a second weight;

wherein the sum of the first weight and the second weight is 1.

8. The searching method according to claim 7, characterized in that said calculating step comprising calculating said exclusion efficiency, for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword, based on a first parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of data that is associated with said selected keyword when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword and a second parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of all of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword.

9. The searching method according to claim 8, wherein said exclusion efficiency increases as the value of said first parameter is smaller, and increases as the value of said second parameter is greater.

10. The searching method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of enabling the computer to automatically set the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency in accordance with the kind of said searching object data.

11. The searching method according to claim 8, wherein said providing step comprises providing said information in a format of making a difference between the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency clear.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage recording medium having computer code thereon, said computer code causing a computer to execute the operations of:

extracting a plurality of common keywords associated with a piece of searching object data;

storing said plurality of extracted common keywords into storage means;

accepting a selected keyword selected by a user from said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means;

calculating exclusion efficiency indicating a level of exclusion efficiency of data that is not associated with said selected keyword for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword when said common keyword is specified as an exclusion keyword; and

providing said exclusion efficiency to a user;

wherein said calculating exclusion efficiency utilizes the selection keyword, the exclusion keyword, a searching object population set, and a calculation of a set of document data in which the selection keyword or the exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set and determines a first set, a second set and a third set;

wherein the first set comprises a set of document data in which the selection keyword appears in the searching object population set;

wherein the second set comprises a set of document data in which the exclusion keyword appears in the first set;

wherein the third set comprises a set of document data in which the exclusion keyword appears in the searching object population set

wherein said calculating exclusion efficiency is based on a combination of a first term and a second term;

wherein the first term comprises a ratio of a difference between a number of elements in a first set and a total number of elements in a second set, and the number of elements in the first set;

wherein the second term comprises a ratio of a total number of elements in a third set and a total number of elements in the searching object population set;

wherein the first term is adjusted by a first weight, and wherein the second term is adjusted by a second weight;

wherein the sum of the first weight and the second weight is 1.

13. The program product according to claim 12, wherein said calculating operation comprises causing the computer to calculate said exclusion efficiency, for an individual common keyword of said plurality of common keywords stored in said storage means except for said selected keyword, based on a first parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of data that is associated with said selected keyword when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword and a second parameter indicating a level of exclusion efficiency in a set of all of said searching object data when said keyword is specified as the exclusion keyword.

14. The program product according to claim 13, wherein said exclusion efficiency increases as the value of said first parameter is smaller, and increases as the value of said second parameter is greater.

15. The program product according to claim 13, further comprising an operation for causing the computer to automatically set the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency in accordance with the kind of said searching object data.

16. The program product according to claim 13, wherein said providing operation comprises causing the computer to provide said information in a format of making a difference between the contribution levels of said first parameter and said second parameter to said exclusion efficiency clear.