Probability Kinematics in Information Retrieval

We analyse the kinematics of probabilistic term weights at retrieval time for di erent Information Retrieval models. We present four models based on di erent notions of probabilistic retrieval. Two of these models are based on classical probability theory and can be considered as prototypes of models long in use in Information Retrieval, like the Vector Space Model and the Probabilistic Model. The two other models are based on a logical technique of evaluating the probability of a conditional called imaging, one is a generalisation of the other. We analyse the transfer of probabilities occurring in the term space at retrieval time for these four models, compare their retrieval performance using classical test collections, and discuss the results. We believe that our results provide useful suggestions on how to improve existing probabilistic models of Information Retrieval by taking into consideration term-term similarity.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1995
• Where: SIGIR
• Authors: Fabio Crestani, C. J. van Rijsbergen
• Keywords: Information Management, Information Retrieval, Probabilistic, Retrieval Time, SIGIR 1995