Patent ID: 7707204
Filing Date: 2010-04-27
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method of indexing stored information in a query answer system, comprising: receiving, at a processor of the computer, a user input specifying a factoid type; identifying expressions in the stored information on the computer storage device containing a factoid of the user-specified factoid type; constructing, with the processor, a passage corresponding to each expression identified by extracting text from the stored information containing the expression, wherein extracting text includes: computing, with the processor, a score corresponding to each passage based on a relationship between the passage and the user-specified factoid type, wherein computing a score corresponding to each passage comprises determining a likelihood that a factoid in an expression corresponding to a given passage answers a request represented by at least one content word, wherein determining a likelihood comprises computing a ranking function for each content word in the given passage; and generating, with the processor, an index of the passages and corresponding scores based on the user-specified factoid type contained in the expression, and storing the index on a computer storage device.