Relevance
Abraham Bookstein · Journal of the American Society for Information Science · 1979
Abstract The concept of relevance is fundamental to information retrieval, yet the literature shows a diversity of meaning for this term. It is suggested that for this term to be of use in discussions of information retrieval systems, the term should be tied as directly as possible to the goals and operations of these systems, and one such definition is suggested. Other uses are examined in this light. Two models of information retrieval systems—one created by Maron and Kuhns, the other by Swets—in which the notion of relevance is central, are examined; the use of the concept in each is analyzed and the systems are related to each other.