Iterative query refinement for exploratory search in distributed heterogeneous linked data
Laurens De Vocht · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · 2015
Task-oriented search scenarios go beyond retrieving information when a one-time perception of search tasks is neither possible nor sufficient. Such scenarios typically need further investigation, navigation or understanding of the search results. Formulating a search query is particularly difficult in case of distributed Linked Data sources, because they have many different relationships and vocabularies. Since users cannot realistically construct their intended query correctly at the first attempt, they need an environment in which they can iteratively refine what they are searching for. Therefore, this PhD thesis proposes an adaptive set of techniques and implements them for use cases in academics, industry and government to measure the effect on the user experience. We show that the set of techniques facilitates web applications in fulfilling task-oriented searches more effectively and that user interaction with search results indeed gradually refines search queries.