Multicriteria Information Retrieval in Textual Corpora - Geographical Information Retrieval in Textual Corpora - page 73

- expressive: each criterion can be associated with a role that assigns a level of
requirement or preference to it.
3.4.3.1. Multicriteria IR: example of user-guided combination
Let us resume the example of the user interested in the Pyrénées mountains and
looking for past descriptions of these mountains. He or she would nevertheless like
to exclude the documents dealing with the commune of Gavarnie and, as much as
possible, avoid those centered around ascents.
Figure 3.4 corresponds to what could be a less ambiguous representation of this
query. It contains five search criteria. Each corresponds to a particular geographic
dimension. Finally, a predefined role can be associated with it.
Figure 3.4. An example of representation of a multicriteria geographic query
Figure 3.5 illustrates the five roles we propose potentially associating with a
search criterion. For example, the (“must not”) Exclusion is a role that excludes from
the result list any document consistent with the criteria; the (“should not”) Demotion
pushes back in the result list any document consistent with the criteria; the (“should”)
Promotion promotes in the result list any document consistent with the criteria; the
(“must”) Prerequisite selects any document consistent with the criteria and,
consequently, excludes from the result list any document inconsistent with the
criteria; the (“should and must”) Target selects and promotes any document
consistent with the criteria and, consequently, excludes from the result list any
document inconsistent with the criteria. Our proposition is original in the sense that
the rejection and acceptance rules associated with a search criterion are thus reduced
to five predefined roles.
Figure 3.5. Five predefined roles to be associated with the search criteria for a
higher expressiveness
Thus, according to their level of expertise, the users formulate their need in two
different ways. First, regular-level users assign these different roles to the search
criteria. By default, the Promotion role is in effect when no role is specified. Second,