ON TERM SELECTION FOR QUERY EXPANSION

Abstract

In the framework of a relevance feedback system, term values or term weights may be used to (a) select new terms for inclusion in a query, and/or (b) weight the terms for retrieval purposes once selected. It has sometimes been assumed that the same weighting formula should be used for both purposes. This paper sketches a quantitative argument which suggests that the two purposes require different weighting formulae.