Generalising multiple capture-recapture to non-uniform sample sizes

Algorithms in distributed information retrieval often rely on accurate knowledge of the size of a collection. The "multiple capture-recapture" method of Shokouhi et al. is one of the more reliable algorithms for determining collection size, but it relies on samples with a uniform number of documents. Such uniform samples are often hard to obtain in a working system. A simple generalisation of multiple capture-recapture does not rely on uniform sample sizes. Simulations show it is as accurate as the original method even when sample sizes vary considerably, making it a useful technique in real tools. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.3.4 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Systems and Software--distributed systems General Terms Experimentation, Measurement Keywords Size estimation

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: SIGIR
• Authors: Paul Thomas
• Keywords: Information Technology, Multiple Capture-recapture, SIGIR 2008, Such Uniform Samples, Uniform Sample