JP6797618B2 - Search device, search method, program and search system - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to search devices, search methods, programs and search systems.

Known technologies for improving search efficiency include relevance feedback, which feeds back the evaluation of search results to perform a search, and technology which enables a search by referring to a past search history.

Japanese Patent No. 3588510

However, in the prior art, there are cases where the search efficiency cannot be appropriately improved. For example, since the knowledge and work experience of the user who evaluated the search result or the user who executed the search in the past is not taken into consideration, effective search result may not be obtained even if relevance feedback is performed. there were.

The search device of the embodiment includes a storage unit, a reception unit, a selection unit, and a search unit. The storage unit stores the auxiliary information that assists the search and the user's identification information in association with each other. The reception department accepts search requests. The selection unit selects auxiliary information from the auxiliary information related to the search request based on the reliability of the user identified by the corresponding identification information. The search unit searches for information using the selected auxiliary information.

The block diagram of the search system of 1st Embodiment. The functional block diagram of the search system of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of user information. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of auxiliary information. The flowchart of the user information input processing in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the identification information input screen. The flowchart of the search request input processing in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the search request input screen. The flowchart of the search process in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the search result screen. Flowchart of evaluation information search process. Flowchart of evaluation information storage process. The functional block diagram of the search system of the 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the search result screen of the 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the synonym dictionary. The functional block diagram of the search system of 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the search history. The flowchart of the search process in the 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the search result screen. The figure which shows the other example of the search result screen. The figure which shows the other example of the search result screen. Flowchart of history search process. Flowchart of history saving process. The hardware block diagram of the apparatus which concerns on 1st to 3rd Embodiment.

A preferred embodiment of the search device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An environment has been created in which a large amount of digitized documents are stored on a server connected to a network and the members can share information within the organization. As a result, individuals who are active in the organization can freely search the information stored in the server and use it to solve individual business problems, thereby improving the efficiency of business execution.

For example, in departments such as inquiry counters and call centers, a system is used in which past inquiry cases and complaint handling cases are documented and recorded so that members can search. As a result, when a new inquiry is made, it becomes possible to find a similar past case and take an appropriate response in a short time.

On the other hand, when the amount of accumulated documents becomes enormous, various documents are searched for the search conditions (keywords, etc.) specified at the time of search and displayed as search results. For this reason, it is necessary to check a large number of search results before finding the desired search result, and there is a risk that the business efficiency will be lowered.

In order to solve the problem of such a document retrieval system, the above-mentioned technologies such as relevance feedback have been developed and are effective. In relevance feedback, the user (searcher) who executed the search for a part of the search results output by the system evaluates whether or not it matches his or her search purpose, and the system uses the evaluation results. Add search keywords to the search request (query) to search again or adjust the ranking of search results. Since it takes time to evaluate the search results, a method has been devised in which each user of the system evaluates the search results by himself / herself, and also shares the evaluation results within the organization to improve work efficiency.

In the prior art, for example, when the evaluation results of a plurality of people are obtained for the same document, the evaluation results are determined by a majority vote, and when the evaluation result is one user, the individual evaluation results are used. In such a method, even if the knowledge levels of the users regarding the search target are different, the evaluation results of all users are treated equally and the evaluation results to be used are determined by a majority vote. Alternatively, the evaluation results of the person who first evaluated a specific search request are always recorded and reused as feedback information for the organization. Therefore, even if there is a bias in the degree of product knowledge and work experience for each user at the inquiry window or call center, that is not taken into consideration, and the evaluation results performed by knowledgeable and highly specialized users are organized. There is a problem that it is not effectively used within.

(First Embodiment)
Therefore, the search device according to the first embodiment refers to the reliability of the user (evaluator) who evaluated the search result, and determines whether to execute the relevance feedback using the evaluation result. The reliability is information indicating how reliable the user who evaluated the search result is. For example, the degree of expertise (specialty level) of the user in the field to which the search target belongs, the number of searches by the user, the number of years of service of the user, and the like can be used as the reliability.

The following describes an example realized as a search system used in a call center that responds to inquiries from product users regarding usage methods and defects of various home appliances.

First, the usage pattern of the search system will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a search system. In the search system shown in FIG. 1, three users (user UA, user UB, and user UC) are using the search device 100. The search device 100 includes a result storage unit 123, a document storage unit 121, and a search unit 104.

The result storage unit 123 records personal evaluation information 22 (evaluation information 22a for user UA, evaluation information 22b for user UB, user UC) that records the results of evaluations performed by each user for each search result. Evaluation information 22c) and evaluation information 21 for the organization to which the user belongs are stored.

When any user inputs a search request to the search device 100 and starts a search, the search unit 104 confirms whether the past evaluation of the input search request is recorded in the personal evaluation information 22. .. If it is recorded, the search unit 104 executes a search using the evaluation information. Even if the past evaluation is not recorded in the evaluation information 22, if it is recorded in the evaluation information 21 for the organization, the search unit 104 performs a search using the evaluation information.

On the other hand, when the past evaluation information for the input search request does not exist in either the evaluation information 22 or the evaluation information 21, the search unit 104 performs a search using only the input search request, and is obtained. Present the search results to the user.

The user browses a part of the presented search results (for example, the top n items in the search order, n is about 10 to 20), and evaluates in order whether or not the information is related to the information he / she is looking for. To do. The user inputs the evaluation result into the search device 100, and then requests the search device 100 to search again.

When the re-search is requested, the search device 100 records the evaluation result in the evaluation information 22 of the user and the evaluation information 21 for the organization. The search device 100 also executes relevance feedback. For example, the search device 100 extracts a term from the documents evaluated to be related in the evaluation result, adds the extracted term to the input search request, executes the search again, and executes the search again. To the user again.

The above is the basic operation of the search system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, for example, even if the evaluation information 21 for the organization already exists, it is necessary to update the evaluation information and whether or not the evaluation information can be used depending on the level of expertise of the evaluation user and the search user. Judge sex. This will be described in detail below.

(System configuration)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the search system of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the search system of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the search device 100 and the terminal device 200 are connected by a network 300.

The network 300 can be configured by any network form such as the Internet. In FIG. 2, one search device 100 and one terminal device 200 are shown, but the number of the search device 100 and the terminal device 200 is arbitrary, and two or more of each may be provided.

The terminal device 200 is, for example, a device such as a personal computer used by a user such as the users UA to UC in FIG. The terminal device 200 includes a communication control unit 201, a display control unit 202, an input unit 221 and a display unit 222.

The input unit 221 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 222 is a device for displaying information such as a search result transmitted from the search device 100, and can be realized by a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and a liquid crystal display.

The communication control unit 201 controls communication with an external device such as the search device 100. For example, the communication control unit 201 transmits the search request input by the user to the search device 100. The display control unit 202 controls the display of information on the display unit 222.

The search device 100 includes a communication control unit 101, a reception unit 102, a selection unit 103, a search unit 104, a document storage unit 121, a user information storage unit 122, and a result storage unit 123.

The document storage unit 121 stores information (document) to be searched. The information to be searched does not need to be stored inside the search device 100, and may be stored in a device other than the search device 100.

The user information storage unit 122 stores information (user information) about the user. For example, the user information includes identification information that identifies the user and information that indicates the reliability of the user. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of user information. As shown in FIG. 3, the user information includes an employee number and specialty information.

The employee number is an example of identification information that identifies a user. If the user can be identified, information other than the employee number may be used as the user's identification information. The specialty information is an example of reliability, and is information in which a set of a specialty field (field information) and a specialty level (specialty level) is listed. The field of specialization indicates, for example, the types of products handled by call centers. The specialty level indicates the degree of knowledge and experience of the user in the corresponding specialty. The level of expertise corresponds to reliability. For example, specialty levels include levels such as "A: very detailed", "B: relatively detailed", and "C: not very detailed". The specialty level is set, for example, the result evaluated in advance by the manager for each employee. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a product not listed in the expertise information may be interpreted as a product with a specialty level of "C".

Returning to FIG. 2, the result storage unit 123 stores the auxiliary information that assists the search and the user's identification information in association with each other. In the present embodiment, the information including the evaluation result used in the relevance feedback is used as auxiliary information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of auxiliary information.

Note that FIG. 1 describes an example in which two types of personal evaluation information 22 stored for each user and evaluation information 21 for an organization shared by all users are stored in independent storage media. The method of storing the evaluation information is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that each evaluation information can be logically distinguished. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, each evaluation information is managed in one table.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary information includes an ID, a type, a keyword, a product type, an employee number, a number of cases, and evaluation information. The ID is information that identifies auxiliary information. The type is information indicating whether the auxiliary information is personal or can be shared by an organization. The keyword is a word or phrase entered as a search condition at the time of search. The product type indicates the type of product entered as a search condition at the time of search.

By associating the employee number, it becomes possible to identify which user evaluated it. The number of documents is the number of documents searched by the search conditions of keywords and product types. The evaluation information includes information that identifies the searched document (document name, etc.) and evaluation results (such as "○" or "x") for the document.

For example, the auxiliary information with ID = 1 in FIG. 4 is for a search request in which a user with an employee number "2009-1011" specifies search conditions such as the keyword "power does not turn on" and the product type "television". The result of evaluating the search result obtained by the above is shown. The number of search results obtained by this search request is 1080. The evaluation result for this search result is "doc-0102: ○, doc-0013: ×". That is, the user evaluates the document specified by "doc-0102" as "○" (appropriate) and the document specified by "doc-0013" as "x" (inappropriate). I'm evaluating. In addition, the type of this auxiliary information is "organization possible", indicating that it can be shared by the organization.

Similarly, the type of auxiliary information with ID = 2 is "organization possible". On the other hand, since the type of the auxiliary information with ID = 3 is "individual", it is shown that the auxiliary information is used by the individual user of the employee number "2012-123".

As the number of cases, instead of simply using the number of searched documents, a "different number" may be used in consideration of the commonality of the contents. For example, the result (document) searched for "power does not turn on" includes two questions, "how do I turn on the TV" and "how do I turn on the TV?" Consider the case. In this case, the nouns and verbs are the three words "television", "power", and "on", and they have a large intersection in content. Therefore, the two search results can be regarded as having the same content. As a method of determining the same content, for example, a method of determining that the content is the same when the content is larger than the threshold value using a threshold value such as the number or ratio of matching words can be applied. With this configuration, if questions with almost the same content are registered, the search results are not considered to have changed, and only when search results with different contents are obtained, it is considered that there has been a change. Can be done.

Returning to FIG. 2, the communication control unit 101 controls communication with an external device such as the terminal device 200. For example, the communication control unit 101 receives the search request transmitted from the communication control unit 201 of the terminal device 200. Further, the communication control unit 101 transmits a display request such as a screen for displaying the search result to the terminal device 200.

The reception unit 102 accepts input of various information such as a search request. For example, the reception unit 102 receives a search request received from the terminal device 200 by the communication control unit 101.

The selection unit 103 selects auxiliary information to be used for relevance feedback. For example, the selection unit 103 selects auxiliary information from the auxiliary information related to the received search request based on the reliability of the user identified by the corresponding identification information. The auxiliary information related to the search request is, for example, auxiliary information including a search condition that matches the search condition included in the search request.

The selection unit 103 may select auxiliary information that includes search conditions that match the search conditions included in the search request and that includes the same employee number as the user who entered the search request. As a result, auxiliary information including the result of the user's own evaluation in the past can be used for relevance feedback.

When the evaluation information 21 for the organization is used, the selection unit 103 may select auxiliary information corresponding to the identification information of the user who has a higher degree of specialization than the user who input the search request. This enables relevance feedback that takes into account the knowledge and work experience of the user who evaluated the search results. As a result, more effective search results can be obtained.

When the document to be searched is updated, it may not be appropriate to use the past evaluation results. Therefore, the selection unit 103 may be configured to select auxiliary information when it can be determined that the document has not been updated. For example, the selection unit 103 includes auxiliary information that includes search conditions that match the search conditions included in the search request, and that matches the number of search results by the search conditions included in the search request and the number of items included in the auxiliary information. , Auxiliary information may be selected based on reliability.

The search unit 104 searches for information such as a document stored in the document storage unit 121 in response to a search request. Further, the search unit 104 searches for information using the auxiliary information selected by the selection unit 103. For example, the search unit 104 uses the evaluation included in the selected auxiliary information as feedback information to provide relevance feedback.

The communication control unit 101, the reception unit 102, the selection unit 103, and the search unit 104 may be realized by, for example, causing a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a program, that is, by software. However, it may be realized by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit), or may be realized by using software and hardware together.

The storage unit (document storage unit 121, user information storage unit 122, and result storage unit 123) is generally used for HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), optical disks, memory cards, RAMs (Random Access Memory), and the like. It can be composed of any storage medium. Further, a part or all of the storage unit may be a storage medium provided in a device other than the search device 100.

Next, the search process by the search device 100 according to the first embodiment configured in this way will be described. First, the user information input process will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the user information input process according to the first embodiment. The user information input process is executed, for example, to input user information such as its own employee number before the user executes a search.

The user inputs identification information (employee number, etc.) to the identification information input screen using, for example, the input unit 221 of the terminal device 200. The identification information input screen is displayed on the display unit 222 by, for example, the display control unit 202. The input identification information is transmitted to the search device 100 by the communication control unit 201.

The reception unit 102 of the search device 100 receives the transmitted identification information (step S101). The reception unit 102 passes the received identification information to the search unit 104 (step S102).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the identification information input screen. As shown in FIG. 6, the identification information input screen includes an input field 601 and an execution button 602. The input field 601 is an area for inputting an employee number which is user identification information. When the execution button 602 is pressed, for example, the communication control unit 201 transmits the input employee number to the search device 100.

The search device 100 identifies the user who subsequently sends the search request by the received employee number. The search device 100 may verify whether the received employee number is valid (registered, etc.), and if it is not valid, notify an error. The search device 100 may accept authentication information such as a password together with an employee number and execute an authentication process for the user.

Next, the search request input process will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the search request input process according to the first embodiment. The search request input process is, for example, a process in which a user inputs a search condition and requests a search.

The user inputs search conditions to the search request input screen using, for example, the input unit 221 of the terminal device 200. The search request input screen is displayed on the display unit 222 by the display control unit 202, for example, after the execution button 602 is pressed on the identification information input screen. The input search condition is transmitted to the search device 100 by the communication control unit 201.

The reception unit 102 of the search device 100 receives the transmitted search request (step S201). The search request includes search conditions such as keywords and specialized fields (product types). The keyword does not have to be a word, but may be a natural sentence or the like. The search conditions are not limited to keywords and specialized fields, and any other conditions can be used. The reception unit 102 passes the received search request to the search unit 104 (step S202).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a search request input screen. As shown in FIG. 8, the search request input screen includes input fields 801 and 802 and a search execution button 803. The input field 801 is an area for inputting a keyword as a search condition. The input field 802 is an area for inputting a specialized field (product type) as a search condition.

For example, even employees working in the same call center have varying degrees of knowledge about the product. Employees with more product knowledge are more likely to be able to better determine relevance by looking at search results. For this reason, the product type is entered as a search condition separately from the keyword so that the specialized field can be reliably identified. When the search execution button 803 is pressed, for example, the communication control unit 201 transmits the input search conditions (keywords, product types) to the search device 100.

Next, the search process according to the search request will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the search process according to the first embodiment.

The search unit 104 receives the search request from the reception unit 102 (step S301). The search unit 104 analyzes the keywords included in the search request by morphological analysis and divides them into morphemes. When the morpheme contains words (stop words) unnecessary for the search, such as particles, the search unit 104 deletes those unnecessary words (step S302). The selection unit 103 searches the result storage unit 123 for evaluation information that can be used for the keyword (step S303). Details of the process in step S303 will be described later.

The search unit 104 determines whether or not the evaluation information exists (searched) (step S304). When there is no available evaluation information (step S304: No), the search unit 104 performs a normal search using the search request and outputs the search result (step S305). The search result is transmitted to the terminal device 200 and output to the display unit 222 or the like. For example, a search result screen including a predetermined number of high-ranking search results is displayed on the display unit 222.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a search result screen. FIG. 10 shows an example of a search result screen in which a display area such as a search result is added to the lower part of the search request input screen as shown in FIG. The search result screen includes an evaluation column 904, a next button 905, and a re-search button 906.

The evaluation column 904 is an area for designating the evaluation (“◯” or “x”) of the search result. The user evaluates the relevance of the search result to the search condition, and inputs the evaluation result by checking "○" if it is related and "x" if it is not related. The next button 905 is a button for displaying the next search result. The re-search button 906 is a button for executing a re-search using the input evaluation result. When the re-search button 906 is pressed, for example, the communication control unit 201 transmits a re-search request to the search device 100 together with the input evaluation result. The reception unit 102 of the search device 100 receives the evaluation result and the request for re-search via the communication control unit 101.

Returning to FIG. 9, the reception unit 102 determines whether or not the evaluation result and the request for re-search have been accepted (step S306). If the request for re-search is not accepted (step S306: No), the process returns to step S301 and the process is repeated. For example, when the user corrects a keyword or the like and executes a search again, he / she corrects the information in the input field 801 or the input field 802 and presses the search execution button 803. In this case as well, the process returns to step S301 and the processing is restarted.

When the request for re-search is accepted (step S306: Yes), the selection unit 103 saves the evaluation result in the result storage unit 123 (step S307).

After step S307 and when it is determined that the evaluation information available in step S304 exists (step S304: Yes), the search unit 104 uses the evaluation result to provide relevance feedback and perform the search process again. This is executed, and the search result is displayed on the display unit 222 (step S308).

As the relevance feedback method, any conventionally used method can be applied. As a basic method, in the process of ranking the results searched only by keywords and product types and determining the display ranking, words that appear only in documents evaluated as related are given a positive evaluation and related. There is a method of performing scoring processing so that words that appear only in documents evaluated as not being evaluated are negatively evaluated.

Next, the details of the evaluation information search process in step S303 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the evaluation information retrieval process.

The selection unit 103 acquires unprocessed auxiliary information among the auxiliary information stored in the result storage unit 123 (step S401). In the selection unit 103, the employee number of the user who entered the search request, the keyword included in the search request, and the product type included in the search request are the employee number, the keyword, and the product included in the acquired auxiliary information. It is determined whether or not it matches the type (step S402).

If they match (step S402: Yes), the selection unit 103 records the acquired auxiliary information in a temporary storage unit or the like in a format that can be referred to by the search unit 104, for example (step S403). If they do not match (step S402: No), and after recording the auxiliary information, the selection unit 103 determines whether or not all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S404). If all the auxiliary information has not been processed (step S404: No), the selection unit 103 returns to step S401 and repeats the processing.

When all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S404: Yes), the selection unit 103 performs the following processing in order to acquire the auxiliary information whose type is "organization possible". That is, the selection unit 103 newly acquires the unprocessed auxiliary information from the result storage unit 123 (step S405).

In the selection unit 103, the type of the acquired auxiliary information is "organizational", and the keyword included in the search request, the product type included in the search request is the keyword included in the acquired auxiliary information, and It is determined whether or not it matches the product type (step S406). When the condition is satisfied (step S406: Yes), in the selection unit 103, the specialty level of the user (searcher) who further input the search request is the specialty of the user (evaluator) of the employee number included in the auxiliary information. It is determined whether or not it is smaller than the level (step S407). For example, the selection unit 103 can specify the specialty level of each user by referring to the user information as shown in FIG.

When the expert level of the searcher is smaller than the expert level of the evaluator (step S407: Yes), the selection unit 103 records the acquired auxiliary information in a temporary storage unit or the like in a format that can be referred to by the search unit 104, for example (step S407: Yes). Step S408).

If the condition of step S406 is not satisfied (step S406: No), and if the searcher's specialty level is equal to or higher than the evaluator's specialty level (step S407: No), the selection unit 103 provides all auxiliary information. It is determined whether or not the processing has been performed (step S409). If all the auxiliary information has not been processed (step S409: No), the selection unit 103 returns to step S405 and repeats the processing. When all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S409: Yes), the evaluation information search process is terminated.

By such a process, it is possible to select the auxiliary information corresponding to the same keyword as the search request input this time from the auxiliary information including the evaluation information evaluated in the past by the searcher. Further, it is possible to select auxiliary information including evaluation information evaluated in the past by an evaluator other than the searcher whose specialty level is higher than that of the searcher. In addition, when registering the auxiliary information whose type is "organization possible", for example, when configuring to register the auxiliary information of the evaluator whose specialty level is larger than the threshold value, the specialty level in step S407. It is not necessary to execute the comparison process of. Even with such a configuration, the auxiliary information of the evaluator with a high degree of specialization can be utilized, so that the search process can be executed more efficiently.

Further, in the example of FIG. 11, both the auxiliary information of the type "individual" and the auxiliary information of the type "organization possible" are searched, but only one of them may be searched. Further, when both are present, either one may be preferentially output.

Next, the details of the evaluation information storage process in step S307 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the evaluation information storage process. In the evaluation information storage process, it is determined whether or not the evaluation result similar to the newly received evaluation result is already stored in the result storage unit 123. If it is already memorized, it is determined whether to make it available to the organization or to limit it to personal use according to the difference in specialty level, and the evaluation result is saved.

The selection unit 103 acquires unprocessed auxiliary information among the auxiliary information stored in the result storage unit 123 (step S501). In the selection unit 103, the type included in the acquired auxiliary information is "organization possible", and the keyword included in the search request corresponding to the evaluation result and the product type included in the search request are the acquired auxiliary information. It is determined whether or not the keywords included in the above and the product type match (step S502). When the condition is satisfied (step S502: Yes), in the selection unit 103, the specialty level of the user (searcher) who input the search request is the specialty level of the user (evaluator) of the employee number included in the auxiliary information. It is determined whether or not it is larger (step S503).

When the expert level of the searcher is higher than the expert level of the evaluator (step S503: Yes), the selection unit 103 updates the type of the registered auxiliary information acquired in step S501 to "individual" (step). S504). The selection unit 103 stores the newly received auxiliary information including the evaluation result in the result storage unit 123 with the type set to "organization possible" (step S505). When the expert level of the searcher is equal to or lower than the expert level of the evaluator (step S503: No), the selection unit 103 stores the auxiliary information including the newly received evaluation result as the type "individual". It is stored in the unit 123 (step S506).

If the condition is not satisfied in step S502 (step S502: No), the selection unit 103 determines whether or not all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S507). If all the auxiliary information has not been processed (step S507: No), the selection unit 103 returns to step S501, acquires the next auxiliary information, and repeats the process.

When all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S507: Yes), the selection unit 103 determines whether or not the searcher's specialty level is equal to or higher than a predetermined specific level (step S508). For example, specialty level = "A: very detailed" can be defined as a specific level. In this case, the evaluation result of a user with a high degree of specialization can be shared with other users for the organization.

When the expert level of the searcher is equal to or higher than a specific level (step S508: Yes), the selection unit 103 sets the type of auxiliary information including the newly received evaluation result to "organization possible" in the result storage unit 123. Save (step S509). When the expert level of the searcher is smaller than the specific level (step S508: No), the selection unit 103 stores the auxiliary information including the newly received evaluation result in the result storage unit 123 with the type as "individual". (Step S506).

The evaluation information once recorded in the result storage unit 123 may be configured so that it can be used continuously without being deleted thereafter. On the other hand, when the document to be searched is updated, it may not be appropriate to use the past evaluation results. Therefore, for example, in the processes of steps S402 and S406 of FIG. 11, it is possible to add a determination as to whether or not the document to be searched has been updated, and if it has been updated, the auxiliary information may not be used. .. For example, the number of cases searched by the entered search conditions may be compared with the number of cases included in the auxiliary information, and if the numbers do not match, it may be determined that the document to be searched has been added or deleted. As described above, the number of cases may be a “different number” in consideration of the commonality of the contents.

So far, the level of expertise has been used as the reliability, but the reliability is not limited to this. For example, the reliability of another user may be stored in the user information storage unit 122, and the stored reliability may be referred to to determine whether to use the auxiliary information. The reliability is, for example, information indicating which user's evaluation information can be trusted and used by a certain user.

In FIG. 3, it was explained that the specialty information is set by the administrator by evaluating the specialty of each user in advance. However, managers do not always have an accurate grasp of the knowledge level of all members of an organization. Therefore, apart from the specialized information shown in FIG. 3, each user has a person who has the same or higher expertise as or higher than himself / herself, based on the high level of expertise of others that he / she grasps through his / her daily work. , It is possible to set a person who wants to use the evaluation of that person as a reliable evaluator in the user information of each user.

Such reliability may be configured to be used in conjunction with the level of expertise. As a result, for example, even if the condition is not met in the determination of the specialty level, the evaluation information of another user can be used.

As described above, in the search device according to the first embodiment, the relevance feedback using the evaluation result is executed with reference to the specialty level (reliability) of the user (evaluator) who evaluated the past search result. Decide if you want to. This makes it possible to make the search more efficient.

(Second Embodiment)
The search device according to the second embodiment further includes a function that allows the user to specify whether to use the selected auxiliary information, and a function that normalizes the search conditions (keywords and the like). It should be noted that it may be configured to have only one of these functions.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the search system of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the search system of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the search device 100-2 and the terminal device 200 are connected by a network 300.

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the function of the reception unit 102-2, the function of the selection unit 103-2, and the normalization unit 105-2 are added. Other configurations and functions are the same as those in FIG. 2, which is the block diagram of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

The reception unit 102-2 is different from the reception unit 102 of the first embodiment in that it further receives information indicating whether or not the selected auxiliary information can be used.

The normalization unit 105-2 executes a normalization process for converting the notation included in the search request into another notation having the same meaning. The details of the normalization process will be described later. By executing the normalization process, it is possible to utilize the evaluation information more effectively, reduce the input work of the searcher, and improve the work efficiency.

The selection unit 103-2 selects auxiliary information based on reliability from auxiliary information including search conditions that match the search conditions included in the search request for which normalization processing has been executed. As a result, the selection unit 103-2 can select auxiliary information including a search condition that matches or is similar to the search condition included in the search request.

In the first embodiment, if there is available evaluation information, the evaluation information is always used to perform a re-search (step S304: Yes, step S308 in FIG. 9). However, even if it can be used as evaluation information for an organization, for example, some users may not want to use the evaluation information of a person with the same level of expertise as themselves. In order to respond to such a request, when the evaluation information available for the search request input by the searcher is recorded in the result storage unit 123, who is the user (evaluator) who made the evaluation? It is desirable that the searcher can determine whether or not to use the evaluation information after displaying whether or not the evaluation information is used.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the reception unit 102-2 can further receive information indicating whether or not the selected auxiliary information can be used. For example, in the present embodiment, it is possible to specify whether or not to use the auxiliary information on the search result screen. The reception unit 102-2 receives the information indicating the availability of use specified on the search result screen.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the search result screen of the second embodiment. In contrast to the search result screen of the first embodiment (FIG. 10), the search result screen of the present embodiment specifies a message 907 indicating that there is available auxiliary information and a re-search using this auxiliary information. Button 908 and is added.

The searcher may press the button 908 when using the evaluation result of the user in consideration of the specialty level of the user (user A) displayed in the message 907. When the button 908 is pressed, information indicating that the evaluation result (auxiliary information) of this user is used is transmitted to the search device 100-2. The reception unit 102-2 receives this information. On the other hand, when the searcher evaluates by himself / herself, he / she may check the evaluation column 904 by himself / herself and press the re-search button 906 as described above. In the example of FIG. 14, information that can identify the user (“user A”) is displayed, but information that specifies the specialty level without specifying the user may be displayed. For example, instead of displaying your name, you may display "a person who is more specialized than you".

Next, the normalization unit 105-2 will be described. Normalization refers to converting search conditions (keywords) that are input for the same search purpose but have different notations into search conditions (keywords) that have the same notation. As a result, evaluation information that could not be used because it was recorded as different search conditions (keywords) in the result storage unit 123 for a search request that was originally input for the same search purpose but has a different notation can be used for the search. Become.

To perform normalization, for example, a synonym dictionary may be used. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a synonym dictionary. In FIG. 15, an example is shown in which "TV" and "television" are synonymous. In normalization, the synonym dictionary is searched for each morpheme of the input search condition (keyword), and if there is a corresponding line, for example, it is unified to the first word of each line. For example, the word "TV" included in the search condition (keyword) is converted into "television" and then used for recording in the result storage unit 123 and for searching auxiliary information from the result storage unit 123.

As described above, the search device according to the second embodiment further includes a function that allows the user to specify whether to use the selected auxiliary information, and a function that normalizes the search condition. This makes it possible to further improve the efficiency of the search.

(Third Embodiment)
When a large number of search results are displayed and it is judged that the search results are not sufficiently narrowed down, or when the search results are judged to be less than expected, the searcher usually adds a search keyword to the query. , Modify the search formula. A user who has abundant knowledge about the search target can perform such a correction action of the search request more accurately. For this reason, for a searcher with a small amount of knowledge, improving the quality of his / her search by knowing how a user with a higher level of expertise than himself / herself specifies or modifies the search expression. Can be done.

However, in the prior art, since the degree of knowledge of the searcher is not taken into consideration, information that does not contribute to the improvement of search efficiency may be presented, such as sharing the search history of a searcher with a low knowledge level. That is, there are cases where the search history performed by a knowledgeable and highly specialized person is not effectively utilized in the organization.

The search device according to the third embodiment refers to the reliability of another user and determines whether to use the past search history. This makes it possible to make the search more efficient.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the search system of the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the search system of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the search device 100-3 and the terminal device 200 are connected by a network 300.

In the third embodiment, the functions of the selection unit 103-3, the search unit 104-3, and the result storage unit 123-3 are different from those of the first embodiment. Other configurations and functions are the same as those in FIG. 2, which is the block diagram of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

The result storage unit 123-3 is different from the result storage unit 123 of the first embodiment in that the past search history is stored as auxiliary information. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the search history stored in the result storage unit 123-3. As shown in FIG. 17, the search history as auxiliary information includes an ID, a type, a keyword, a product type, and an employee number. In this way, the search history is information that records which user searched for what kind of product and what kind of keyword.

The selection unit 103-3 selects the search history based on the reliability from the search history including the search conditions matching the search conditions included in the search request. Similar to the second embodiment, the search conditions may be normalized and then determined to match. The search unit 104-3 searches for information using the search conditions included in the selected search history.

Since the user information input process and the search request input process are the same as those in the first embodiment (FIGS. 5 and 7), description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the search process by the search device 100-3 according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the search process according to the third embodiment.

The search unit 104-3 receives the search request from the reception unit 102 (step S601). The search unit 104-3 executes a search process according to the search request and displays the search result (step S602). The search request includes a normal search request in which the searcher inputs search conditions by himself / herself, and a request for re-search using the search history. The search unit 104-3 determines whether or not the search executed in step S602 is a re-search (step S603).

In the case of re-search (step S603: Yes), the search unit 104-3 ends the search process. If it is not a re-search, that is, if it is a normal search (step S603: No), the search unit 104-3 stores the search history including the search conditions (keywords, product types) used in this search as the result storage unit 123-. Save in 3 (step S604).

The selection unit 103-3 searches the result storage unit 123-3 for the search history corresponding to the search conditions used in the search (step S605). The selection unit 103-3 determines whether or not the corresponding search history exists (step S606). If it does not exist (step S606: No), the search unit 104-3 ends the search process.

When the corresponding search history exists (step S606: Yes), the search unit 104-3 displays the search history on, for example, the display unit 222 (step S607).

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a search result screen displayed when a search history exists. The search result screen of the present embodiment includes an area 1906 for displaying the search history and a re-search button 1907. The search history (keyword) searched from the result storage unit 123-3 is displayed in the area 1906. In the area 1906, instead of presenting the entire keyword recorded as the search history as it is, only the keyword that is the difference from the keyword input by the searcher may be presented. On the right side of the area 1906, a re-search button 1907 corresponding to each search history is displayed. When the re-search button 1907 is pressed, a search request based on the search condition (keyword, product type) of the corresponding search history is transmitted to the search device 100-3, and the search is executed again (step S601).

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing another example of the search result screen. In the example of FIG. 20, a message indicating that the search history matches the product types (product type = "television" in the example of FIG. 20) is displayed above the area 1906. As described above, in the present embodiment, the search history related to the specialized field (product type) can be used. It should be noted that the search history in which the product types do not match may be acquired.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing another example of the search result screen. In the example of FIG. 21, a message indicating that the search history is a user whose specialty level is higher than that of the searcher is displayed on the area 1906.

Next, the flow of the history search process in step S605 will be described. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the history search process. In the history search process, keywords including the keywords specified by the searcher are extracted from the search history recorded in the result storage unit 123-3.

The selection unit 103-3 acquires unprocessed auxiliary information among the auxiliary information stored in the result storage unit 123-3 (step S701). The selection unit 103-3 determines whether or not the type included in the acquired auxiliary information is "organizational possible" and the product type included in the search request matches the product type included in the acquired auxiliary information. Determine (step S702). When the condition is satisfied (step S702: Yes), the selection unit 103-3 determines whether or not the content word of the keyword included in the search request is included in the content word of the keyword included in the auxiliary information (step). S703). For example, the selection unit 103-3 analyzes a keyword into morphemes, divides them into morphemes, and removes stop words such as particles to use morphemes as content words.

When the content word of the keyword included in the search request is included in the content word of the keyword included in the auxiliary information (step S703: Yes), in the selection unit 103-3, the expert level of the searcher is set to the auxiliary information. It is determined whether the included employee number is greater than the user's specialty level (step S704).

When the specialty level of the searcher is higher than the specialty level of the history (step S704: Yes), the selection unit 103-3 temporarily stores the auxiliary information acquired in step S701 in a format that can be referred to by the search unit 104-3, for example. Record in a section or the like (step S705).

After recording the auxiliary information, if it is determined in step S702 that the condition is not satisfied (step S702: No), if it is determined that there is no inclusion relationship in step S703 (step S703: No), and in step S704, the searcher. When it is determined that the specialty level of the history is not higher than the specialty level of the history (step S704: No), the selection unit 103-3 determines whether or not all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S706). If all the auxiliary information has not been processed (step S706: No), the selection unit 103-3 returns to step S701 and repeats the processing. When all the auxiliary information has been processed (step S706: Yes), the selection unit 103-3 ends the history search process.

By the above processing, it is possible to extract search conditions that are more detailed than the current search conditions.

Next, the flow of the history saving process in step S604 will be described. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the history saving process.

The search unit 104-3 determines whether or not the searcher's specialty level is equal to or higher than a predetermined specific level (step S801). For example, specialty level = "A: very detailed" can be defined as a specific level. In this case, the search history of a user with a high degree of specialization can be shared by other users for the organization.

When the specialty level of the searcher is a specific level or higher (step S801: Yes), the search unit 104-3 sets the type to "organization possible" and searches including the search conditions (keywords, product types) used in the search. The history is saved in the result storage unit 123-3 (step S802). When the specialty level of the searcher is not higher than the specific level (step S801: No), the search unit 104-3 sets the type as "individual" and displays the search history including the search conditions (keyword, product type) used in the search. It is stored in the result storage unit 123-3 (step S803).

As described above, in the search device according to the third embodiment, when a certain user performs a search, a search request made by a user having a higher specialty level than the user is presented as reference information. Then, the search request can be modified without hassle by operating a button. In addition, the search request input by the user is also recorded as a search history, and can be presented as reference information when another user performs a search. As a result, the work of modifying the search conditions at the time of searching is streamlined for the entire organization, and the efficiency of the entire search work is improved.

As described above, according to the first to third embodiments, the reliability (specialty) of the user when sharing the evaluation result used in the relevance feedback or the auxiliary information of the search such as the past search history. Sex level, etc.) can be considered. As a result, for example, it is possible to effectively utilize the evaluation results and search history of users who are more knowledgeable and highly specialized in the organization, and improve the efficiency of the search work.

Next, the hardware configuration of the devices (search device, terminal device) according to the first to third embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. 24. FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the device according to the first to third embodiments.

The devices according to the first to third embodiments are connected to a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 53, and a network. It is provided with a communication I / F 54 for communicating with each other and a bus 61 for connecting each unit.

The program executed by the apparatus according to the first to third embodiments is provided by being incorporated in the ROM 52 or the like in advance.

The programs executed by the devices according to the first to third embodiments are files in an installable format or an executable format, such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), and a CD-R. (Compact Disk Recordable), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like, which may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and provided as a computer program product.

Further, the program executed by the apparatus according to the first to third embodiments may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by downloading via the network. .. Further, the program executed by the apparatus according to the first to third embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

The program executed by the device according to the first to third embodiments can make the computer function as each part of the device described above. The computer can read a program from a computer-readable storage medium onto the main storage device and execute the program.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

100, 100-2, 100-3 Search device 101 Communication control unit 102, 102-2 Reception unit 103, 103-2, 103-3 Selection unit 104, 104-3 Search unit 105-2 Normalization unit 121 Document storage unit 122 User information storage unit 123, 123-3 Result storage unit 200 Terminal device 201 Communication control unit 202 Display control unit 221 Input unit 222 Display unit 300 Network

Claims (11)

A storage unit that stores auxiliary information that assists in searching and user identification information in association with each other.
The reception department that accepts search requests and
A selection unit that selects auxiliary information from the auxiliary information related to the search request based on the reliability of the user identified by the corresponding identification information.
A search unit for searching information using the selected auxiliary information is provided.
Wherein the auxiliary information includes a search condition specified by a user identified by the corresponding identification information, and a field information indicating the areas in which the search target belongs,
The reliability indicates the degree of expertise of the user in the field.
The selection unit compares the specialty of the user who has input the search request with the specialty of the user identified by the identification information associated with the auxiliary information, and inputs the search request. Auxiliary information corresponding to the identification information of a user having a higher degree of specialization than the user is selected from auxiliary information including search conditions that match or are similar to the search conditions included in the search request .
Search device. The auxiliary information includes a search condition specified by the user identified by the corresponding identification information and an evaluation of the search result based on the search condition.
The search unit searches for information using the evaluation included in the selected auxiliary information as conformity feedback information.
The search device according to claim 1. The auxiliary information includes search conditions previously specified by the user identified by the corresponding identification information.
The search unit searches for information using the search conditions included in the selected auxiliary information.
The search device according to claim 1. The auxiliary information includes a type indicating whether or not it can be shared within an organization to which a plurality of users belong.
The selection unit selects the auxiliary information indicating that the type can be shared within the organization.
The search device according to claim 1. The reliability includes a set of the field and the user's expertise in the field.
The search device according to claim 1. The selection unit selects auxiliary information specified by the user from among the auxiliary information selected based on the reliability.
The search device according to claim 1. The search and representation in the request, means further comprises a normalization unit for executing normalization processing into other notations are the same,
The selection unit selects auxiliary information based on the reliability from auxiliary information including search conditions that match the search conditions included in the search request for which normalization processing has been executed.
The search device according to claim 1. The auxiliary information includes a search condition specified by a user identified by the corresponding identification information and the number of search results according to the search condition.
The selection unit includes search conditions that match or are similar to the search conditions included in the search request, and the number of search results by the search conditions included in the search request matches the number of cases included in the auxiliary information. Select auxiliary information based on the reliability from the auxiliary information to be used.
The search device according to claim 1. It is a search method executed by a search device including a storage unit that stores auxiliary information that assists the search in association with the user's identification information.
The reception step that accepts search requests and
A selection step of selecting auxiliary information from the auxiliary information related to the search request based on the reliability of the user identified by the corresponding identification information.
Including a search step of searching for information using the selected auxiliary information.
Wherein the auxiliary information includes a search condition specified by a user identified by the corresponding identification information, and a field information indicating the areas in which the search target belongs,
The reliability indicates the degree of expertise of the user in the field.
The selection step compares the specialty of the user who entered the search request with the specialty of the user identified by the identification information associated with the auxiliary information, and inputs the search request. Auxiliary information corresponding to the identification information of a user having a higher degree of specialization than the user is selected from auxiliary information including search conditions that match or are similar to the search conditions included in the search request .
retrieval method. Computer,
A storage unit that stores auxiliary information that assists in searching and user identification information in association with each other.
The reception department that accepts search requests and
A selection unit that selects auxiliary information from the auxiliary information related to the search request based on the reliability of the user identified by the corresponding identification information.
It functions as a search unit that searches for information using the selected auxiliary information.
Wherein the auxiliary information includes a search condition specified by a user identified by the corresponding identification information, and a field information indicating the areas in which the search target belongs,
The reliability indicates the degree of expertise of the user in the field.
The selection unit compares the specialty of the user who has input the search request with the specialty of the user identified by the identification information associated with the auxiliary information, and inputs the search request. Auxiliary information corresponding to the identification information of a user having a higher degree of specialization than the user is selected from auxiliary information including search conditions that match or are similar to the search conditions included in the search request .
program. A search system that includes a terminal device and a search device.
The terminal device is
A communication control unit for transmitting a search request to the search device is provided.
The search device
A storage unit that stores auxiliary information that assists in searching and user identification information in association with each other.
The reception department that accepts the search request and
A selection unit that selects auxiliary information from the auxiliary information related to the search request based on the reliability of the user identified by the corresponding identification information.
A search unit for searching information using the selected auxiliary information is provided.
Wherein the auxiliary information includes a search condition specified by a user identified by the corresponding identification information, and a field information indicating the areas in which the search target belongs,
The reliability indicates the degree of expertise of the user in the field.
The selection unit compares the specialty of the user who has input the search request with the specialty of the user identified by the identification information associated with the auxiliary information, and inputs the search request. Auxiliary information corresponding to the identification information of a user having a higher degree of specialization than the user is selected from auxiliary information including search conditions that match or are similar to the search conditions included in the search request .
Search system.

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