Minimum Coordination Passage Scoring for Query Relevance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passage scoring methods overemphasize hotspots and non-hotspots, leading to mismatched rankings, where repeated query terms elevate passage scores undesirably and irrelevant terms overwhelm relevant ones.
Innovation Solution
The minimum coordination scoring approach measures the compatibility between a query and a passage by limiting query term occurrences and introducing relaxation parameters to allow flexibility, resulting in a 'pseudo query' that balances exactness and deviation from the ideal passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional passage scoring methods are used, then query term occurrences are counted to determine relevance, but repeated query terms elevate passage scores undesirably and irrelevant terms overwhelm relevant ones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters used in scoring by introducing minimum coordination scoring that considers both term frequency and term specificity. Instead of simply counting term occurrences, the method evaluates the coordination between query terms and passage terms, adjusting scores based on whether terms are common or specific to the document collection. This resolves the contradiction by preventing overemphasis on repeated terms while still capturing relevant matches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical counting mechanism of traditional scoring with a more sophisticated coordination-based evaluation. Rather than mechanically summing term frequencies, the system evaluates the relational coordination between query and passage terms, using functions that assess the compatibility and relevance of term overlaps, thereby eliminating the harmful effect of irrelevant terms overwhelming relevant ones.
2Reliability
If term frequency is used to score passages, then matching terms are counted, but the scoring becomes complex and computationally intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the scoring process into distinct components: determining overlapping terms, calculating term weights, evaluating coordination functions, and computing final scores. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall computation compared to traditional methods that require complex iterative processes. The minimum coordination scoring breaks down the ranking task into manageable steps that maintain reliability while reducing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by focusing scoring on only the overlapping terms between query and passage, rather than analyzing all terms in the document collection. This selective approach maintains reliability for ranking relevant passages while significantly reducing computational complexity by ignoring non-overlapping terms that would add unnecessary computational burden.
3Manufacturing precision
If minimum coordination scoring is applied, then term coordination is evaluated, but the scoring function becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters evaluated in scoring from simple term frequencies to coordinated term relationships. By introducing minimum coordination scoring that considers both the frequency of terms and their specificity to the document collection, the method achieves higher precision in passage scoring. The coordination function evaluates the relationship between query terms and passage terms, providing more precise rankings while keeping the scoring function relatively simple and interpretable.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method, computerized apparatus and computer program product for minimum coordination passage scoring. Given a candidate passage in a document collection potentially matching a query received, a set of overlapping terms between the candidate passage and the query is determined. For each overlapping term in the set, a first measure of a weight of the term in the query, a second measure of a weight of the term in the candidate passage, and a third measure of a specificity of the term in the document collection are calculated. a function of the first and second measure is evaluated to obtain a value reflecting a condition on the relation therebetween. A minimum coordination score representing a relative similarity between the candidate passage and the query is determined based on the value and the first, second and third measures obtained for each of the overlapping terms.