FAQ4Response

Relevance has been a topic of research interest in information science for more than four decades. There are two major conflicting views in the debate: the system-centered perspective vs. the user-centered perspective. In your answer, a. Define 'relevance' from both perspectives b. Define the implications for information retrieval and/or the design of services from both perspectives c. Propose THREE strategies to help users in finding relevant information

System-centered perspective:
 * Relevance = whatever matches the keyword(s). Results with 1 or more keywords. Ranked.
 * Implications for IR = search engine knows how to match words with documents. There is an index.
 * the system only knows what the user gives it to search for. There is no judgement.

User-centered perspective:
 * Relevance = what pertains to the topic of the search (as judged by the user)
 * Implications for IR=user's information needs may rapidly change. Ideas for searching may be vague.