Retrieval Group Home page

The Retrieval Group of the Information Access Division works with industry, academia and other government agencies to promote the use of more effective and efficient techniques for manipulating (largely) unstructured textual information, especially the browsing, searching, and presentation of that information.

 

Activities (grouped into 4 major areas):

• Encourage retrieval research involving large, unstructured text files by providing test collections and organizing the TREC conference and its proceedings
• Continue to create new test collections, focusing mainly on collections to support specific information retrieval sub-tasks such as cross-language retrieval and multimedia retrieval
• Develop better evaluation methodology for information access, including improved evaluation measures for comparing systems using test collections and new evaluation measures for interactive searching and browsing operations
• Enable faster development of prototype (commercial, academic and government) retrieval systems by distribution of a basic state-of-the-art search engine (the PRISE system) that includes implementation of a Z39.50 client/server