Smart Subjects: Application Independent Subject Recommendations Tito Sierra NCSU Libraries Code4Lib 2007

Outline Concept Motivation Smart Subjects Applications How it Works Strengths and Weakness Future Plans

Concept

Motivation

Smart Subjects Applications

How it Works

Strengths and Weakness

Future Plans

Smart Subjects Concept Input: User search query Output: A list of related library subjects

Input:

User search query

Output:

A list of related library subjects

Smart Subjects Concept Input: User search query Output: A list of related library subjects Basically a subject recommendation engine.

Input:

User search query

Output:

A list of related library subjects

Basically a subject recommendation engine.

Example 1 Input: music therapy Output: Music Curriculum & Instruction Education Communication & Media Psychology Biochemistry

Input:

music therapy

Output:

Music

Curriculum & Instruction

Education

Communication & Media

Psychology

Biochemistry

Example 2 Input: asymptotic stability Output: Bioinformatics & Biomathematics Statistics Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Mathematics Computer Science Aerospace Engineering

Input:

asymptotic stability

Output:

Bioinformatics & Biomathematics

Statistics

Mathematics, Science & Technology Education

Mathematics

Computer Science

Aerospace Engineering

Example 3 Input: illegal immigration Output: Criminology Political Science Public Administration Biology Zoology Industrial Engineering

Input:

illegal immigration

Output:

Criminology

Political Science

Public Administration

Biology

Zoology

Industrial Engineering

Example 3 Input: illegal immigration Output: Criminology Political Science Public Administration Biology Zoology? Industrial Engineering

Input:

illegal immigration

Output:

Criminology

Political Science

Public Administration

Biology

Zoology?

Industrial Engineering

Motivation Search log analysis: standard, international economic development, fines, dissertation abstracts, music therapy, ACM, wolfcopy, Oxford English Dictionary, audio, illegal immigration, schedule, interlibrary, datamonitor, chemistry, JAMA, CRC, photography, vision, wiley, ciation builder, job, academic search elite, ria, film studies, career development, sanborn maps, citation index, iee, history, industry analysis, scholarly journals, ethics, spss, petition, animal behavior, psych info, repository, ENR, diabetes, data, lrl, cancer, textbooks, wharton, Christian Science Monitor, ITTC, blah, PubMed, time magazine, nutrition, DVD, questia, conductive heat transfer, sage, newspaper

Search log analysis:

standard, international economic development, fines, dissertation abstracts, music therapy, ACM, wolfcopy, Oxford English Dictionary, audio, illegal immigration, schedule, interlibrary, datamonitor, chemistry, JAMA, CRC, photography, vision, wiley, ciation builder, job, academic search elite, ria, film studies, career development, sanborn maps, citation index, iee, history, industry analysis, scholarly journals, ethics, spss, petition, animal behavior, psych info, repository, ENR, diabetes, data, lrl, cancer, textbooks, wharton, Christian Science Monitor, ITTC, blah, PubMed, time magazine, nutrition, DVD, questia, conductive heat transfer, sage, newspaper

Motivation Search log analysis: Lots of topical subject queries in the long tail! standard, international economic development , fines, dissertation abstracts, music therapy , ACM, wolfcopy, Oxford English Dictionary, audio, illegal immigration , schedule, interlibrary, datamonitor, chemistry , JAMA, CRC, photography , vision, wiley, ciation builder, job, academic search elite, ria, film studies , career development, sanborn maps, citation index, iee, history , industry analysis, scholarly journals, ethics , spss, petition, animal behavior , psych info, repository, ENR, diabetes , data, lrl, cancer , textbooks, wharton, Christian Science Monitor, ITTC, blah, PubMed, time magazine, nutrition, DVD, questia, conductive heat transfer , sage, newspaper

Search log analysis:

Lots of topical subject queries in the long tail!

standard, international economic development , fines, dissertation abstracts, music therapy , ACM, wolfcopy, Oxford English Dictionary, audio, illegal immigration , schedule, interlibrary, datamonitor, chemistry , JAMA, CRC, photography , vision, wiley, ciation builder, job, academic search elite, ria, film studies , career development, sanborn maps, citation index, iee, history , industry analysis, scholarly journals, ethics , spss, petition, animal behavior , psych info, repository, ENR, diabetes , data, lrl, cancer , textbooks, wharton, Christian Science Monitor, ITTC, blah, PubMed, time magazine, nutrition, DVD, questia, conductive heat transfer , sage, newspaper

Motivation Existing work: Subject Browse portal at NCSU

Existing work:

Subject Browse portal at NCSU

Subject Browse at NCSU Locally developed subject classification launched in Fall 2005 100 subject nodes in 12 top-level categories Subject nodes influenced by the university curriculum (e.g. Crop Science)

Locally developed subject classification launched in Fall 2005

100 subject nodes in 12 top-level categories

Subject nodes influenced by the university curriculum (e.g. Crop Science)

Subject Browse at NCSU

Subject Browse at NCSU

Smart Subjects Applications Quick Search integration OpenSearch interface

Quick Search integration

OpenSearch interface

Quick Search Integration

Quick Search Integration

Quick Search Integration

OpenSearch Interface

OpenSearch Interface

How it Works Harvest available institutional data Course catalog descriptions Faculty publications citations Create “text extract” representations for each academic department on campus Index the text extracts Retrieval interface queries indices Retrieval algorithm crosswalks academic departments to library subject classification

Harvest available institutional data

Course catalog descriptions

Faculty publications citations

Create “text extract” representations for each academic department on campus

Index the text extracts

Retrieval interface queries indices

Retrieval algorithm crosswalks academic departments to library subject classification

How it Works

How it Works

How it Works

Technology Used SWISH-E for indexing PHP for retrieval processing/scoring

SWISH-E for indexing

PHP for retrieval processing/scoring

Strengths Application and collection independent Subject recommendations can be integrated in any library search application Encourages broader, serendipitous resource discovery

Application and collection independent

Subject recommendations can be integrated in any library search application

Encourages broader, serendipitous resource discovery

Weaknesses False positives (bad recommendations) Zero hits (no recommendations)

False positives (bad recommendations)

Zero hits (no recommendations)

Future Plans Deploy new uses of Smart Subjects tool Database Advisor Increase the size of subject indices Article table of contents data Backlog of course descriptions Gauge interest for a community subject recommendation platform

Deploy new uses of Smart Subjects tool

Database Advisor

Increase the size of subject indices

Article table of contents data

Backlog of course descriptions

Gauge interest for a community subject recommendation platform

More Information Project Site: http://www.lib. ncsu . edu/dli/projects/smartsubjects

Project Site:

http://www.lib. ncsu . edu/dli/projects/smartsubjects

Thanks! Tito Sierra NCSU Libraries [email_address]

Tito Sierra

NCSU Libraries

[email_address]