Classic IR (information retrieval) is inherently predicated on users searching for information, the so-called "information need". But the need behind a web search is often not informational -- it might be navigational (give me the url of the site I want to reach) or transactional (show me sites where I can perform a certain transaction, e.g. shop, download a file, or find a map). We explore this taxonomy of web searches and discuss how global search engines evolved to deal with web-specific needs.

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A taxonomy of web search

1. Introduction to text mining 2. Core text mining operations 3. Text mining preprocessing techniques 4. Categorization 5. Clustering 6. Information extraction 7. Probabilistic models for Information extraction 8. Preprocessing applications using probabilistic and hybrid approaches 9. Presentation-layer considerations for browsing and query refinement 10. Visualization approaches 11. Link analysis 12. Text mining applications Appendix Bibliography.

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The Text Mining Handbook: Advanced Approaches in Analyzing Unstructured Data

There are currently two dominant interface types for searching and browsing large image collections: keyword-based search, and searching by overall similarity to sample images. We present an alternative based on enabling users to navigate along conceptual dimensions that describe the images. The interface makes use of hierarchical faceted metadata and dynamically generated query previews. A usability study, in which 32 art history students explored a collection of 35,000 fine arts images, compares this approach to a standard image search interface. Despite the unfamiliarity and power of the interface (attributes that often lead to rejection of new search interfaces), the study results show that 90% of the participants preferred the metadata approach overall, 97% said that it helped them learn more about the collection, 75% found it more flexible, and 72% found it easier to use than a standard baseline system. These results indicate that a category-based approach is a successful way to provide access to image collections.

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Faceted metadata for image search and browsing

KEY BENEFIT: Written by a leader in the field of information retrieval, this text provides the background and tools needed to evaluate, compare and modify search engines. KEY TOPICS: Coverage of the underlying IR and mathematical models reinforce key concepts. Numerous programming exercises make extensive use of Galago, a Java-based open source search engine. MARKET: A valuable tool for search engine and information retrieval professionals.

Search Engines: Information Retrieval in Practice

As information becomes more ubiquitous and the demands that searchers have on search systems grow, there is a need to support search behaviors beyond simple lookup. Information seeking is the process or activity of attempting to obtain information in both human and technological contexts. Exploratory search describes an information-seeking problem context that is open-ended, persistent, and multifaceted, and information-seeking processes that are opportunistic, iterative, and multitactical. Exploratory searchers aim to solve complex problems and develop enhanced mental capacities. Exploratory search systems support this through symbiotic human-machine relationships that provide guidance in exploring unfamiliar information landscapes. Exploratory search has gained prominence in recent years. There is an increased interest from the information retrieval, information science, and human-computer interaction communities in moving beyond the traditional turn-taking interaction model support d by major Web search engines, and toward support for human intelligence amplification and information use. In this lecture, we introduce exploratory search, relate it to relevant extant research, outline the features of exploratory search systems, discuss the evaluation of these systems, and suggest some future directions for supporting exploratory search. Exploratory search is a new frontier in the search domain and is becoming increasingly important in shaping our future world. Table of Contents: Introduction / Defining Exploratory Search / Related Work / Features of Exploratory Search Systems / Evaluation of Exploratory Search Systems / Future Directions and concluding Remarks

Exploratory Search:Beyond the Query-Response Paradigm

This paper extends the familiar “query by humming” music retrieval framework into the polyphonic realm. As humming in multiple voices is quite difficult, the task is more accurately described as “query by audio example,” onto a collection of scores. To our knowledge, we are the first to use polyphonic audio queries to retrieve from polyphonic symbolic collections. Furthermore, as our results will show, we will not only use an audio query to retrieve a known item symbolic piece, but we will use it to retrieve an entire set of real-world composed variations on that piece, also in the symbolic format. The harmonic modeling approach which forms the basis of this work is a new and valuable technique which has both wide applicability and future potential.

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Polyphonic Score Retrieval Using Polyphonic Audio Queries: A Harmonic Modeling Approach

The International Symposium on Music Information Retrieval (ISMIR) was born on 13 August 1999. This paper expresses the opinions of three of ISMIR’s founders as they reflect upon what has happened during its first decade. The paper provides the background context for the events that led to the establishment of ISMIR. We highlight the first ISMIR, held in Plymouth, MA in October of 2000, and use it to elucidate key trends that have influenced subsequent ISMIRs. Indicators of growth and success drawn from ISMIR publication data are presented. The role that the Music Information Retrieval Evaluation eXchange (MIREX) has played at ISMIR is examined. The factors contributing to ISMIR's growth and success are also enumerated. The paper concludes with a set of challenges and opportunities that the newly formed International Society for Music Information Retrieval should embrace to ensure the future vitality of the conference series and the ISMIR community.

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Ten years of ismir: Reflections on challenges and opportunities

We posit that progress in Optical Music Recognition (OMR) has been held up for years by the absence of anything resembling the standard testbeds in use in other fields that face difficult evaluation problems. One example of such a field is text information retrieval (IR), where the Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) has annually-renewed IR tasks with accompanying data sets. In music informatics, the Music Information Retrieval Exchange (MIREX), with its annual tests and meetings held during the ISMIR conference, is a close analog to TREC; but MIREX has never had an OMR track or a collection of music such a track could employ. We describe why the absence of an OMR testbed is a problem and how this problem may be mitigated. To aid in the establishment of a standard testbed, we provide (1) a set of definitions for the complexity of music notation; (2) a set of performance metrics for OMR tools that gauge score complexity and graphical quality; and (3) a small corpus of music for use as a baseline for a proper ...

Towards a Standard Testbed for Optical Music Recognition: Definitions, Metrics, and Page Images

We are interested in questions of improving user control in best-match text-retrieval systems, specifically questions as to whether simple visualizations that nonetheless go beyond the minimal ones generally available can significantly help users. Recently, we have been investigating ways to help users decide-given a set of documents retrieved by a query-which documents and passages are worth closer examination. We built a document viewer incorporating a visualization centered around a novel content-displaying scrollbar and color term highlighting, and studied whether the visualization is helpful to non-expert searchers. Participants' reaction to the visualization was very positive, while the objective results were inconclusive.

A Scrollbar-based Visualization for Document Navigation

University music students, teachers, and researchers discover and retrieve musical works and navigate within them, then create annotations and share them with other users.

Donald Byrd

Papers

Polyphonic Score Retrieval Using Polyphonic Audio Queries: A Harmonic Modeling Approach

Ten years of ismir: Reflections on challenges and opportunities

Towards a Standard Testbed for Optical Music Recognition: Definitions, Metrics, and Page Images

A Scrollbar-based Visualization for Document Navigation

Variations2: retrieving and using music in an academic setting