Natural Language Information Retrieval TREC-6 Report.

Abstract

. Natural language processing techniques may hold a tremendous potential for overcoming the inadequacies of purely quantitative methods of text information retrieval, but the empirical evidence to support such predictions has thus far been inadequate, and appropriate scale evaluations have been slow to emerge. In this chapter, we report on the progress of the Natural Language Information Retrieval project, a joint effort of several sites led by GE Research, and its evaluation in the 6th Text Retrieval Conferences (TREC-6). 1. Introduction and Motivation Recently, we noted a renewed interest in using NLP techniques in information retrieval, sparked in part by the sudden prominence, as well as the perceived limitations, of existing IR technology in rapidly emerging commercial applications, including on the Internet. This has also been reflected in what is being done at TREC: using phrasal terms and proper name annotations became a norm among TREC participants, and a special interest tra...