Using context information in structured document retrieval: an approach based on influence diagrams

In this paper we present an Information Retrieval System (IRS) which is able to work with structured document collections. The model is based on the influence diagrams formalism: a generalization of Bayesian Networks that provides a visual representation of a decision problem. These offer an intuitive way to identify and display the essential elements of the domain (the structured document components and their usefulness) and also how these are related to each other. They have also associated quantitative knowledge that measures the strength of the interactions. By means of this approach, we shall present structured retrieval as a decision-making problem. Two different models have been designed: SID (Simple Influence Diagram) and CID (Context-based Influence Diagram). The main difference between these two models is that the latter also takes into account influences provided by the context in which each structural component is located.