MX2008009542A - Using user feedback to improve search results - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and method for managing feedback data that will be used for ranking search results. The invention can aggregate a plurality of user feedback data from more than one user into a search index. The user feedback data can be associated with one or more documents within the index such that the one or more documents can be ranked based on the type of feedback data that is aggregated. Once the documents have been ranked, the ranked documents can be provided to a requester.

Description

UTILIZATION OF USER SUPPLY TO IMPROVE SEARCH RESULTS BACKGROUND Services and products evolve and improve over time through comments, suggestions, and feedback from the general public. The general public can be a good source of feedback since it is the public that uses these products and services on a regular basis, and the public may be able to observe most of the faults within the product or service that need to be corrected. There are many search services available to the public that can search a wide variety of information for a requesting user. Many of these search services are based on different algorithms that are used to find the most relevant search results for a user search request. However, these algorithms are not always perfect and can not always provide the best search results for a user search request. Additionally, a search result group for a particular search query may be suitable for a person, however, the same search result for the same search query may not be sufficient for another person because the needs and tastes of all are not the same. Search services, for therefore, they can be another benefit that can benefit from submitting to user feedback and feedback. The incorporation of user feedback into the search services method of providing search results can lead to better and more relevant search results while the same feedback from the public can be used to offer a better sense of what the public wants instead of only rely on algorithms to provide results.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The system and method for handling feedback data to be used in the classification of search results are presented. The system and method describe adding feedback data elements from a plurality of users, wherein the feedback data may be in an unstructured or structured format. In addition, the system and method describe associating the feedback data with one or more documents. Additionally, the system and method can classify one or more documents based on the feedback data. In addition, the system and method can provide one or more documents classified as search results for a search request. This Brief Description is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form which is also described later in the detailed description. This Brief Description is not intended to identify key characteristics or essential characteristics of the subject matter claimed, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the subject matter claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of a system for implementing the invention. Figure 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method for handling feedback data that can be used to classify search results. Figure 3 illustrates one embodiment of a method for providing feedback for one or more documents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 illustrates a system embodiment for implementing the invention. The client 102 can be a desktop or laptop computer, a network enabled cell phone (with or without media capture / playback capabilities), wireless email client, or another client, machine, device, or combination thereof. , to perform various tasks that includes web browsing, search, email (email) or other tasks, applications and functions. The client 102 can additionally be any portable media device such as digital fixed camera devices, digital video cameras (with or without fixed image capture functionality), media players such as personal music players and personal video players, and any other portable media device. The server 104 may be or may include a workstation running Microsoft Windows®, MacOS ™, Unix, Linux, Xenix, IBM AIX ™, Hewlett-Packard UX ™, Novell Netware ™, Sun Microsystems Solaris ™, OS / 2 ™ , BeOS ™, Mach, Apache, OpenStep ™ or another operating system or platform. In one embodiment, the client 102 can also be a server. The client 102 may include a communication interface. The communication interface may be an interface that allows the client to connect directly to any other client or device that allows the client 102 to connect to a client, server, or device on the network 106. The network 108 may include, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet. In one embodiment, the client 102 can connect to another client, server, or device through a wireless interface. Figure 2 illustrates one embodiment of a method for handling data feedback that can be used to classify search results. In one embodiment, the search engine can be used as a server that can handle such feedback data. The search engine can include an index that can be, for example, an inverted index. In step 202, a search engine can add one or more data elements of feedback from one or more users. The feedback data can be any type of information received from a user that is associated with a document. In one embodiment, the feedback data may be used to measure a document according to the relevance of a corresponding search query, wherein the search query may comprise at least one search term. In another embodiment, the feedback data can generally describe the user's feelings about a particular document. In such modalities, the feedback data can describe how pleased or satisfied the user is with the document. A user, for example, can be a web page, any type of multimedia content, or any other type of content that can be indexed by a search engine. In one modality, a document can be presented to the user as a search result. In step 204, aggregate feedback data may be associated with one or more documents. In one embodiment, the user can transmit feedback data to the search machine in a structured format. By creating a structured format, the search engine can present a user interface (Ul) to the user in which the search engine can define what kind of information it wants to have from the user. For example, the search engine can create an Ul in which you can request the user to provide feedback data regarding a particular document when classifying the document on a scale of 1-5 where 5 should be the most favorable classification for the document and 1 should be the least favorable classification. Another example may be presenting an Ul to the user with which the user can select from any number of buttons corresponding to predefined textual descriptions of a document. The textual description can describe how pleased or how dissatisfied the user is with the document. For example, the UI may contain such terms as "the best possible," "good," "fair," "deficient," or "the worst possible" that the user may select as feedback data with respect to a particular document. Even in another example, the search engine can present an Ul to the user and ask the user to provide feedback data when reordering documents within a search result to show which documents the user thinks are most relevant to t search request more than other documents. The invention can use a client-side writing language that can offer a conventional means to allow the user to reorder the documents. For example, the user can click and drag icons, images, or links that represent documents on or under other icons, images, or links in other documents to create a reordered list of documents that correlate with ascending or descending order of relevance . In any type of structured format to receive data from feedback in a predefined way, the search engine can associate the feedback data with the particular document because the search is already aware of what type of information will be received from the user. Additionally, if the feedback data was in response to a document included in a list of search results provided by the search engine, the search engine may associate the search query corresponding to the search results, the feedback data , and documents together with each other. In another embodiment, the user may transmit feedback data to the search machine in an unstructured format. By creating an unstructured format for the user to transmit feedback data, the search engine can present an Ul to the user in which the user can freely enter any type of information that can reveal the user's feelings regarding a particular document . For example, the search engine can present an Ul that includes a text box in which the user can write any comment that has as feedback data concerning a particular document. In one embodiment, the feedback data can be directly correlated to a search query while the feedback data is provided in response to search results received from a search machine provided by the search machine after receiving the query search For example, the feedback data can be linked to a search experience where the user can provide feedback data that can be associated with a web page that the search engine provided as a search result to the user's search query. Since the feedback data is linked to a search query that the search engine provided for search results, the search engine can associate the feedback data with the particular document and the search query. In another embodiment, the feedback data may not directly correlate with a search query and the search engine may not be able to directly link the feedback data with a document or a search query. In fact, a user may be able to provide feedback data that is not directly related to a search experience. More specifically, a user may be able to provide feedback data by contacting the search engine, a separate server that connects to the search engine, or by contacting the entity that operates the search engine. For example, the user can send an email as feedback data to the search engine or separate server that can describe their feelings about a particular search result that is received while conducting a search request, with the feedback data They can usually describe the user's feelings about a particular document. In another example, the user can call the entity that manages the search engine and can verbally provide feedback data that can describe their feelings about a particular search result that is received while conducting a search request, or again the data Feedback can usually describe the user's feelings about a particular document. The entity can then convert the dialogue to text using conventional text dialogue software. Even in another example, the search engine or separate server can retrieve feedback data that can be found in a blog on the Internet. In each example, the search engine or separate server can analyze the text by using conventional analysis algorithms to associate the feedback data to a particular document and possibly also to a search query. In step 206, the search machine stores the feedback data added in its index. Again, the Index can be, for example, an inverted Index. In one embodiment, the feedback data, one or more documents, and the search query that are associated together in step 204 can be stored together in the Index. In another embodiment, the feedback data may be stored in an index separate from other content that is indexed by the network search engine. In step 208, the search engine can classify one or more documents stored in your index based on the feedback data that is received. The feedback data may be a feature of a plurality of features that may be used to provide better search results for similar search queries that were associated with the feedback data. For example, the indexed text of documents found on the Internet can be a feature to determine the classification of search results for particular search queries. Another feature may be the text received from the user feedback data. Even another feature can be the text found specifically from the title of a document. In addition, another characteristic can be the relation of the size of a document to the number of times in which a particular word was found within the document. It should be noted that any type of feature can be used to determine how to classify one or more documents. The aforementioned characteristics are only a subset of the types of characteristics that can be used to determine how to classify certain documents, and therefore, the invention should not be limited to just those examples. While classifying a plurality of documents for a particular search query, the search engine can be configured to emphasize the importance of a word found within the feedback data that the word found within the context of any other feature. For example, the The search engine can emphasize the feedback data that contains a particular word that is three times more important than a document that contains the same word ten times within itself. By helping itself to determine the importance of a relative word in where the characteristic is found, the search engine can link different identifiers with particular words of search queries that can inform the search engine about where the word comes after that is indexed in the search engine. For example, the search engine may use an identifier to indicate that the word comes from a title of a document, an identifier to show that the word comes from the document, or another identifier to show that it comes from feedback data. In other modalities, search results, which include documents, can be classified based on a context comparison and a word within a particular characteristic. For example, the word that is toward the top of a particular item of feedback data may have more significance than the number of times the word was found within the same feedback data item. The same example can be applied to a document, where a word is found, the number of times within the document can be more important where the word is inside the document. The way in which the search engine is configured to emphasize certain characteristics can determine as the search engine will subsequently sort and provide search results for similar search queries in view of the received feedback data. Once one or more documents were classified, in step 210, the search engine can provide classified documents for similar search queries corresponding to search queries that have already been associated with particular feedback data. The feedback data that is stored in the search engine index can have a lifetime or an index of deterioration. For example, in one embodiment, the invention can be configured to emphasize older feedback data less than the feedback data it received in a time closer to when a user's search request was received. In another embodiment, the deterioration index of the feedback data may vary according to the drag rate of the document to which the feedback data corresponds. For example, if a document, a web page for example, has a higher drag index, which means that the data found on the web page is indexed by the search engine frequently (every hour for example), then the data of Feedback that is associated with that web page may deteriorate and become unimportant in the same index while the webpage is indexed. The deterioration of the feedback data can then become another feature to determine how Classify one or more documents in view of the feedback data. However, in another mode, a document that has a high drag index can be claimed to be more important than other documents with lower drag rates. In such a mode, any type of received feedback data that is associated with a document with a high drag index may also be claimed more important and may become another feature to determine how to classify one or more documents in view of the feedback data. Figure 3 illustrates one embodiment of a method for providing feedback for one or more documents. In step 302, the user may be presented with a first list of search results documents corresponding to the search query originally sent by the user. In step 304, the user can initiate a response to transmit feedback data that is associated with one or more documents within the search results. As previously mentioned, the user can be presented with an Ul to enter feedback data for one or more documents. The user can enter the data in a structured or unstructured format as detailed above. There may be many different methods to initiate a response to transmit feedback data. In one modality, the user can click on an image, icon, or link that is a representation of the document in order to activate the Ul to present the user to the data of input feedback. In another modality, the user can float the mouse course on the image, icon, or link that can activate an Ul to be presented to the user to enter feedback data. Even in another modality, with the detection of an event that will activate the presentation of the Ul, the Ul can be presented in a side panel that can be placed next to the window containing the search results documents. In one embodiment, the search engine may receive the feedback data in step 306. In another embodiment, the client-side application may be provided to receive the feedback data in step 306. In both embodiments, the search machine and the client side application can instantly create a data item based on the feedback data that was received. A data item can be a second list of search results that includes one or more different documents or a reordered version of the first list of documents. Additionally, a data item can be a notification that can recognize that the search machine or the client side application received the feedback data. When the data item is a second list of search results, the client-side application to the search engine may instantly present the second list when they receive the user's feedback data in step 308. The client-side application may include a written language that can provide a conventional means to allow the user reorder or reclassify the documents included in the first list of search results. For example, the user can click and drag icons, images, or links that represent documents on or under other icons, images, or links in other documents to create a reordered list of documents that correlate with ascending or descending order of relevance . Once the user reorders or reclassifies the documents, the client side application can instantly present the second list of search results. Alternatively, the search engine can be used to instantly present a second list of search results. The search engine can receive the feedback data, complete steps 204-208 as discussed in Figure 2, and can present a second list of search results in view of the feedback data that was received. In one embodiment, a client-side application may allow a user to store preferences in the client that may be used in conjunction with feedback data to allow the search machine to provide search results that correspond to user preferences and feedback data. . For example, the user can adapt his or her machine to inform a search engine that prefers to have new content, sports content, video content, or higher rated image content than any other type of content. Additionally, the client side application can inform the search engine for particular physical properties of the user machine that can be used together with feedback data to provide relevant search results. For example, the client side application by informing the search machine that the user machine is a mobile device. The search engine may have certain indexed documents that are best formatted for mobile devices that the search engine may send to the user as search results in view of the user feedback data. Although particular embodiments of the invention were illustrated and described in detail herein, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope and intent of the invention. The modalities described here aim in all aspects to be more illustrative rather than restrictive. The alternate embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its scope. From the above it is noted that this invention is a well adapted to obtain all the objects and objects mentioned above, along with other advantages, which are obvious and inherent in the system and method. It will be understood that certain characteristics and sub-combinations are useful and can be used without reference to other characteristics and sub-combinations. It is contemplated and is within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1. - A method for handling feedback data that will be used to classify search results, comprising: adding one or more feedback data elements from a plurality of users; associate one or more feedback data elements with one or more documents; classify one or more documents based on one or more of the feedback data elements; and provide one or more classified documents.

2. - A method according to claim 1, further comprising associating search query with one or more of the feedback data elements and one or more of the documents.

3. - The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the feedback data elements are received in an unstructured format.

4. - The method according to claim 1, which further comprises receiving a search request, wherein the feedback data is received in a time closer to when the user request is received, the feedback data are emphasized more old when one or more of the documents are classified.

5. The method according to claim 4, which also it comprises emphasizing feedback data based on how often one or more of the documents is indexed, where the feedback data are more emphasized when the feedback data corresponds to a document that is indexed more frequently than other documents.

6. - The method according to claim 1, further comprising classifying the document by identifying the position of one or more words within the feedback data.

7. - The method according to claim 1, wherein the feedback data is stored in an inverted index.

8. - The method according to claim 1, wherein the feedback data is not associated with a search request.

9. - The method according to claim 1, wherein the documents are classified based on the feedback data and a physical characteristic of a requesting device.

10. - A method that handles feedback data that will be used to classify search results, comprising: receiving one or more feedback data elements, the one or more feedback data elements being in an unstructured format; associating one or more of the feedback data elements with one or more documents; classify one or more of the documents based on one or more more of the feedback data elements; and provide one or more of the classified documents.

11. - The method according to claim 10, further comprising associating a search query with one or more of the feedback data elements and one or more of the documents.

12. - The method according to claim 10, further comprising classifying the document by identifying the position of one or more words within the feedback data.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the feedback data is not associated with a search request.

14. - A method for handling feedback data that will be used to classify search results, comprising: receiving a search query; classifying a plurality of documents based on the search query and at least one feedback data item, the feedback data being associated with at least one document; provide the plurality of classified documents.

15. - The method according to claim 14, wherein one or more of the feedback data elements are received in a structured format.

16. - The method according to claim 14, wherein one or more of the feedback data elements are received in an unstructured format.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the feedback data is not associated with a search request.

18. The method according to claim 14, which also includes classifying the document by identifying the position of one or more words within the feedback data.

19. - The method according to claim 14, further comprising providing a deterioration index for at least one feedback data element.

20. - The method according to claim 19, wherein the deterioration index varies according to a drag index of at least one of the plurality of documents.