Hi shraif,
Query expansion refers to the process of adding information to a query
to create a new query which will hopefull increase search accuracy.
One simple technique for query expansion is to add synonomous terms to
a query using a thesarus lookup. A technique that is considered to
work better than simple thesaurus lookup is called relevance feedback.
The Google search engine uses relevance feedback techniques to
increase search accuracy. For example, a Google search for "signal
processing" will return many results. If you find a result that looks
interesting, you can click the "Similar pages" link next to the search
citation and Google will use information in that document to construct
a new query which more closely matches the one that you indicated was
relevant. You can also use utilize sentence structure and grammar to
assist with query expansion. For example, if the query is in question
form and begins with "Why", then you might want to search for an
answer containing "because" or "due to". Researchers have also found
that adding noun phrases to querys usually gives better results than
adding other kinds of phrases.
Here is another example that might be useful to you. Searching the
internet for "query expansion" might return a list of research papers
and discussions, but no information on how to actually implement query
expansion. Try searching Google for "query expansion example
implementation" (without the quotes).
Hope this helps!
-rajbot
of adding words or phrases to a search request to increase its
information content with the hopes of increasing search accuracy. |
