Assessing thesaurus-based annotations for semantic search applications

Abstract

Statistical methods for automated document indexing are becoming an alternative to the manual assignment of keywords. We argue that the quality of the thesaurus used as a basis for indexing in regard to its ability to adequately cover the contents to be indexed and as a basis for the specific indexing method used is of crucial importance in automatic indexing. We present an interactive tool for thesaurus evaluation that is based on a combination of statistical measures and appropriate visualisation techniques that supports the detection of potential problems in a thesaurus. We describe the methods used and show that the tool supports the detection and correction of errors, leading to a better indexing result.

Tagging and automation: challenges and opportunities for academic libraries

“…Our method is based on the free and open-source software Semtinel [vi], which is currently being developed as part of the same DFG-project concerning automated indexing (Eckert, 2007;Eckert et al, 2007Eckert et al, , 2008aEckert et al, , 2008bEckert et al, , 2008c. Semtinel provides a highly optimised toolbox with various statistical analysis methods, as well as the possibility to get an in-depth view on concrete annotation results.…”