Contextual Semantic Search Navigation
Geir Solskinnsbakk · 2012
Doctoral Thesis at NTNU, 2012:305 Search has for a long time been an important tool for users seeking information. Many popular search systems have been based on keyword search. However, such systems are not that well adapted to explore the search space. Effective exploration requires systems which can guide the user in his quest. The main focus of this thesis is to generate a framework for semantic navigational search which is compatible with the vector space model and unites formal and informal semantics. In this thesis, formal semantics is represented by ontologies, while informal semantics is represented by folksonomies. The research conducted has been divided into four main phases with different foci that together fulfill our research focus: (i) Formal semantics, (ii) Informal semantics, (iii) Structure verification, and (iv) Contextual semantic search navigation. In the first phase, the focus was ontologies and extending concepts with concept signatures. A concept signature is a shallow semantic representation of a concept based on how the concept is referred