Abstract: Anonymizing product search results. Keywords related to a product are received. For each keyword, an associated list of terms, which lists the keyword and one or more additional terms that are closely related to the keyword, is generated. A combination list that includes combinations of terms selected from the associated lists of terms, where each combination includes two or more terms and at least one combination includes terms from different associated lists of terms, is created. A search, based on the combinations of terms in the combination list, is performed and online content is received. Based on product information in the online content, a list of products is generated. An anonymized list of products is generated from the list of products by masking product brand names of the products in the list of products. The anonymized list of products is presented on a user interface.

Abstract: A session search relevance model identifies a user's dynamic information need based on a feedback model and a session relevance model. The feedback model is based on query changes in the session search and user interest in particular documents presented throughout the session search. The relevance model modifies a user's current query to retrieve documents most relevant to a user's information need.

Abstract: A query for a help system includes data about a user system and a task that the user is attempting. The query may be used by a search engine to generate relevant results to aid the user. The user system data may include configuration data about hardware and software. The task data may be derived from the current state of a device, or from operational history that may be developed from a single user or a group of users. The query may have a mechanism to weight various keywords or components of the query and a feedback system may adjust the weights for future queries.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for adapting formats of data queries into a generic format. A query requesting data stored in a business objects data source is received. The query has a generic format and includes parameters that describe a computer interface implementation configured to execute the query to identify the requested data. Based on the one or more parameters, the computer software interface implementation is identified. The interface implementation specifies an interface-specific query format. The query is converted from the generic query format into the interface-specific query format, and provided to the computer software interface implementation. The interface implementation executes the interface-specific query and obtains the requested data in an interface-specific results format. This data is converted into a generic results format, and provided in response to receiving the query.

Abstract: Highly relevant search results for unstructured queries are efficiently identified from normalized data. A server graphs relationships between each of the data objects. For each search term, the server identifies a candidate set of data objects mapped to the term. The server calculates priority scores for the candidate data objects based at least in part on one or more of: a link analysis of the graph; or an analysis of metadata describing structural constraints upon the candidate data objects. Based on the graph, the server identifies one or more search result subgraphs, each comprising at least one data object from each of the candidate sets. The server looks for subgraphs in an order that is based on the priority scores for the candidate data objects. The server may terminate its search early, in part because prioritizing the candidate data objects increases the likelihood of receiving relevant search results first.

Abstract: In order to retrieve article level content from a plurality of content providers, a federated search program receives a generic query from a user and dispatches the query simultaneously to a plurality of connector objects. Each connector object that is associated with a particular content source and contains source specific code that reformats the generic query into a proprietary format required for the associated content source. The proprietary query is then dispatched to the content source. When the results at the content source are ready, the result set is fetched by the connector. The fetched results are then mapped into a standard format. The standard result sets from the different content sources are then merged into a single consolidated result set. Duplicate documents are removed from the consolidated result set and the final results are sorted in accordance with criteria specified by the user and presented to the user.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a relevancy presentation apparatus includes a storage, an extraction unit, a first expansion unit, a second expansion unit, a determination unit and a generation unit. The storage stores topic networks. The extraction unit extracts subject keywords. The first expansion unit acquires first relevant words from the topic networks. The second expansion unit searches an ontologies for the subject keywords. The determination unit extracts common relevant words, and determines whether frequencies of appearances of relevant words are stationary. The generation unit generates search queries based on whether the frequencies of appearances are stationary, and generates search results.

Abstract: A server system receives, respectively, a first character string from a first user and a second character string from a second user. There are one or more differences between the first and second character strings. The server system obtains from a plurality of previously submitted complete queries, respectively, a first set of predicted complete queries corresponding to the first character string and a second set of predicted complete queries corresponding to the second character string. There are one or more identical queries in both the first and second sets. The server system conveys at least a first subset of the first set to the first user and at least a second subset of the second set to the second user. Both the first subset and the second subset include a respective identical query.

Abstract: There is provided a computer-implemented method for user query reformulation. A graph is created to represent a relationship between previous user query terms. The graph may represent the previous user searches in n-grams that correspond to nodes. A random walk analysis is performed to determine probabilities that various n-grams corresponding to nodes of the graph could be used to effectively alter a user search term. The probabilities represent a quantification of relationships between nodes of the graph. A determination may be made regarding whether to reformulate the user query based on a relationship between a user search term in the user query and a graphed search term represented by a node of the graph. The determination takes into account a relationship between the user search term and the graphed search term.

Abstract: The metadata-based intermediation between two data sources. A computing system accesses a query message (e.g., a query or a query response). The query message is structured to be compatible with the first data source. The computing system uses metadata either directly, or indirectly through the execution of code referenced by the metadata to convert the query message into a semantically equivalent query message that is compatible with the second data source. If the query message were a query, then a query response may be acquired and the metadata may perhaps be used again to convert the query response into a form that is compatible with the first data source. In one embodiment, the conversion using the metadata is performed with the assistance of a framework, making changes to the conversion process as simple as perhaps just editing the metadata itself.

Abstract: In one embodiment the present invention includes a computer-implemented method comprising receiving a first query in a local computer system to access data stored on a remote computer system the local computer system. Data elements of the remote data are associated with data elements of the local data. The query is transformed into multiple queries. A second query is sent to the remote computer system to retrieve remote data. A first data result is received and stored on the local computer system and incorporated into a third query. The third query is executed against the local data and the first data result to produce a result. Sensitive data may be stored locally in a dimension table of a star schema and non-sensitive data may be stored remotely in a fact table and another dimension table of the star schema, for example.

Abstract: A system and method for creating and utilizing content is described. Content is generated which includes a query and a response to the query. A primary query may be used to generate a plurality of variant queries which may be matched to a request. A content owner or curator may review a query, a response, and/or alternate queries, and may provide access to media which may be used to generate queries and responses.

Abstract: A system may receive one or more terms of a search query. The system may automatically identify prior search queries that include the one or more terms of the search query from a history of prior search queries. The system may automatically identify possible spelling corrected search queries based on the one or more terms of the search queries. The system may automatically receive remote server-based query completion suggestions including the one or more terms of the search query. The system may present query refinement options, the query refinement box being populated with the prior search queries as suggested queries for possible selection by a user, the identified possible spelling corrected search queries, and the received query completion suggestions.

Abstract: Inferring query intent in information retrieval is described. In an example reformulations of an initial query by a user are used to create a query neighborhood. In the example, the query neighborhood is used to identify a set of possibly related queries. First and higher order reformulations of the initial query may be used to expand the query neighborhood. In an example precision can be improved by reducing the query neighborhood to more closely related queries for example, two queries can be connected if they are often clicked for the same document. In an example two queries can be connected using a random walk and all pairs of queries that are not connected by a random walk of less than a fixed threshold are removed. The connected queries can be used to form clusters and weights can be applied in order to determine the most likely related queries.

Abstract: Information may be presented to a user by receiving a selection of one or more terms passively displayed in a document, loading the terms to a search configuration, generating first results responsive to a user's predicted interest as expressed in the search configuration, and enabling display of the first results.

Abstract: A searcher can be configured to improve search results through the use of intelligent word deletion. A search auto categorizer (SAC) operates on the original query and returns a list of leaf categories and a distribution of probabilities among the leaf categories. The original query is parsed into word pairs and each word pair is run through the search engine. The search results for each word pair are weighted by the leaf category probabilities. A word pair is selected from the results and one of the two words is deleted from the original query. The searcher can perform exhaustive deletion where multiple truncated queries are generated from the original query and the results list from one truncated query is returned as the results list. The searcher can build up a truncated query from the original query by iteratively appending a word selected from the original query to the truncated query.

Abstract: A searcher can be configured to improve search results through the use of intelligent word deletion. A search auto categorizer (SAC) operates on the original query and returns a list of leaf categories and a distribution of probabilities among the leaf categories. The original query is parsed into word pairs and each word pair is run through the search engine. The search results for each word pair are weighted by the leaf category probabilities. A word pair is selected from the results and one of the two words is deleted from the original query. The searcher can perform exhaustive deletion where multiple truncated queries are generated from the original query and the results list from one truncated query is returned as the results list. The searcher can build up a truncated query from the original query by iteratively appending a word selected from the original query to the truncated query.

Abstract: A hardware and/or software facility facilitates search string entry and refinement on a mobile device. A user enters a search string on a mobile device via one or more input methods. The facility searches the user's device and/or one or more remote data areas and returns search results that match the entered search string. Search results include, for example, information, links, files, and other results that correspond to the search string. Before and/or after the search is performed, the facility applies one or more filters that produce refined search results. Filters may relate to location, category, synonyms, data type, social-network, and other groupings—including user-defined groupings—that may refine the search results. Filters may be applied automatically and/or in response to user selection of a filter.

Abstract: An apparatus and method use ontological relationships in a query language and a computer database to improve database performance and utility. A set of ontological relationships are stored in the database and new query clauses are used to query the data in advantageous ways. Ontological relationships are preferably stored in a tree structure. This tree structure then can be used to reflect the ontological relationships of data stored in the columns of a database.

Abstract: The method, system and computer program product for efficient retrieval of knowledge referral are disclosed. In one approach, the method, system and computer program product modify a query for retrieving an entry from a directory information system, that is stored in a relational database, to retrieve the entry and a knowledge referral.

Abstract: A search technology generates recommendations with minimal user data and participation, and provides better interpretation of user data, such as popularity, thus obtaining breadth and quality in recommendations. It is sensitive to the semantic content of natural language terms and lets users briefly describe the intended recipient (i.e., interests, eccentricities, previously successful gifts). Based on that input, the recommendation software system and method determines the meaning of the entered terms and creatively discover connections to gift recommendations from the vast array of possibilities. The user may then make a selection from these recommendations. The search/recommendation engine allows the user to find gifts through connections that are not limited to previously available information on the Internet. Thus, interests can be connected to buying behavior by relating terms to respective items.

Abstract: A user interface component receives an input error message. A query enhancer component derives error messages from the input error messages using error pattern(s) representative of the input error message and error sub-pattern(s) of the error pattern(s). A result aggregator component inputs each error message to search engines, receives search results, aggregates the search results, and provides the search results to the user interface. The enhancer component may include a pattern composer component to locate error patterns representative of the input error message, and a sub-pattern generator component to derive error sub-patterns from the error patterns. The aggregator component may determine whether the search results are in agreement with a predetermined criterion. If not, the aggregator component may request the enhancer component to provide additional error messages to input to the search engines.