Evaluating the Effectiveness of Keyword Search

The prevalence of free text search in web search engines has inspired recent interest in keyword search on relational databases. Whereas relational queries formally specify matching tuples, keyword queries are imprecise expressions of the user's information need. The correctness of search results depends on the user's subjective assessment. As a result, the empirical evaluation of a keyword retrieval system's effectiveness is essential. In this paper, we examine the evolving practices and resources for effectiveness evaluation of keyword searches on relational databases. We compare practices with the longer-standing full-text evaluation methodologies in information retrieval. In the light of this comparison, we make some suggestions for the future development of the art in evaluating keyword search effectiveness.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: DEBU
• Authors: William Webber
• Keywords: DEBU 2010, Keyword Retrieval System, Keyword Search, Relational Databases