Abstract:
A method for refining search results. The method includes receiving a search query and in response to determining the search query is a compound search query, the method includes parsing the compound search query into at least two sub-queries. The method includes performing a search for each of the sub-queries and receiving a set of results from each search. The method then includes receiving a selection of a received result from one of the results sets and performing a second search using the selected received result and a subquery not associated with the selected received result.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the field of search engines, and more particularly to refining and identifying meaningful search results for a compound search query using additional results obtained from searching sub-queries of the search query. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Search engines operate to retrieve a set of search results that correspond to a search query inputted by a user. Search engines treat user input as a single query and return search results which most closely match the entire search query. Consequently, some context embedded in the grammar of the search query may be lost and some search results may direct a user to internet resources or documents that do not interest the user, because the search results match the search query verbatim. Analytics, such as ranking search results based on time, location, or relevancy, can help the user find the closest matching result of a simple search query but analytics may not help a user searching for multiple topics. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    Embodiments of the present invention disclose a computer method, computer program product, and computer system for refining search results. The method includes receiving a search query and in response to determining the search query is a compound search query, the method includes parsing, by one or more computer processors, the compound search query into at least two sub-queries. The method includes performing a search for each of the sub-queries and receiving a set of results from each search. The method includes receiving a selection of a received result from one of the results sets and performing a second search using the selected received result and a sub-query not associated with the selected received result. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of a searching program for parsing a compound search query into sub-queries and returning search results for each search query and sub-query, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary user interface displaying search results provided by the searching program of  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of the internal and external components of a data processing system, such as the client computing device or the server computing device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable medium(s) having computer readable program code/instructions embodied thereon. 
         [0009]    Any combination of computer-readable media may be utilized. Computer-readable media may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of a computer-readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
         [0010]    A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
         [0011]    Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
         [0012]    Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on a user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
         [0013]    Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0014]    These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0015]    The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0016]    The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the Figures.  FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing environment, generally designated  100 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0017]    Distributed data processing environment  100  includes client computing device  120  and server computing device  130 , all interconnected over network  110 . Network  110  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  110  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communication between client computing device  120  and server computing device  130 . 
         [0018]    Client computing device  120  includes web browser  121 , user interface (UI)  122 , and searching program  124 . In various embodiments of the present invention, client computing device  120  can be a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with server computing device  130  via network  110 . Web browser  121  is a software application capable of retrieving and presenting information obtained from the World Wide Web. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, web browser  121  requests, via network  110 , results of a search performed by search engine  132  on server computing device  130 , performed using search queries entered into UI  122 . In various embodiments, web browser  121  may be an information retrieval system designed to provide access to information stored on a computer system or within a computing environment. UI  122  may be, for example, a graphical user interface (GUI) or a web user interface (WUI) and can display text, documents, web browser windows, user options, application interfaces and instructions for operation. Client computing device  120  may include internal and external hardware components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0019]    Searching program  124  can be an add-on or browser extension for modifying the interface or behavior of web browser  121 . Searching program  124  analyzes an original search query entered into UI  122  by a user operating on client computing device  120 . Searching program  124  can parse the original search query into sub-queries, transmit each sub-query to search engine  132 , and search engine  132  returns results for each sub-query. Searching program  124  ranks the results for each sub-query and presents the results to the user. Each sub-query can also act as an additional tool to refine the search results obtained for each other sub-query. For example, the user may select an option to refine search results around a chosen sub-query result, thereby narrowing down other sub-query results. While searching program  124  in  FIG. 1  is included within web browser  121 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that in other embodiments, searching program  124  may be located elsewhere within distributed data processing environment  100  and can communicate with web browser  121  via network  110 . 
         [0020]    Server computing device  130  includes search engine  132  and can be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbook computer, PC, a desktop computer, PDA, a smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with client computing device  120  via network  110 , and with other various components and devices within distributed data processing environment  100 . In an embodiment of the present invention, server computing device  130  can represent a computing system utilizing clustered computers and components to act as a single pool of seamless resources when accessed through a network. This is a common implementation for data centers and for cloud computing applications. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, search engine  132  is a web search engine used to crawl, index and search for information on the World Wide Web. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting operational steps of searching program  124  for parsing a compound search query into sub-queries and returning search results for each search query and sub-query, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0022]    Searching program  124  receives an original search query (step  202 ). The original search query, which can be natural language plain text, is entered by a user into UI  122  in order to obtain search results on the entered search query from search engine  132 . Searching program  124  determines whether the original search query is a compound query (decision block  204 ). A compound query is any query that is a semantic combination of two or more simple sub-queries and contains text separated by operators, such as “and” or “or.” If the original search query is not a compound query (decision block  204 , no branch), for example, one word or simple phrase, such as “family restaurant,” searching program  124  performs a search using the original search query (step  210 ). 
         [0023]    If the original search query is a compound query (decision block  204 , yes branch), for example, “family restaurant and miniature golf,” searching program  124  parses the original search query into multiple simple sub-queries (step  206 ). In an exemplary embodiment, the original search query is split into multiple simple sub-queries using a semantic parser, or any other computer program capable of understanding a natural language using a set of grammar rules and breaking down natural language sentences or other strings of words into meaningful components, such as words or phrases. Searching program  124  performs a search using each of the sub-queries (step  208 ). For example, “family restaurant and miniature golf” may be broken down into “family restaurant” and “miniature golf” sub-queries, and search engine  132  will return search results for each sub-query. 
         [0024]    Searching program  124  performs a search using the original search query (step  210 ). In addition to returning results for each sub-query, searching program  124  returns results for the original search query. Searching program  124  assigns weights to search results (step  212 ). In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a weight is assigned to each search result obtained, including results from the original search query and results from each sub-query, in order to rank the results. The weight for each search result can be determined based on how relevant the search result is to the search query text, or based on how recent, or timely, the content of the search result is, with more recent content weighted and ranked higher than older content. In another embodiment of the present invention, the weight for each search result may be determined by searching program  124  based on user preferences that a user has set prior to a search. User preferences may include set preferences for factors such as geographic location data, social media data, or the user&#39;s prior history of searches. 
         [0025]    Searching program  124  ranks the search results and presents each ranked result set to the user separately (step  214 ). The search results for each sub-query and for the original search query are ranked based on the weights assigned to each search result. Each ranked result set obtained from each search is separately presented to the user. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the results for each sub-query and the original search query are displayed on different tabs in a web browser window on UI  122 , as is further shown and discussed with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
         [0026]    Searching program  124  determines whether a selection is made of a sub-query search result (decision block  216 ). The selected sub-query result may be, for example, a miniature golf location the user is interested in visiting. If a selection is not made (decision block  216 , no branch), searching program  124  ends. If a selection is made of a sub-query search result (decision block  216 , yes branch), searching program  124  performs a new search using the selected sub-query search result and another sub-query (step  218 ). Searching program  124  can use each sub-query as an additional tool to further refine the selected search result when performing the new search, for example, a search for family restaurants near the selected miniature golf course. The new search is performed using a new search query made up of the selected result, for example, a miniature golf course name, and a sub-query not associated with the selected sub-query search result. In an exemplary embodiment, a hyperlink may be displayed below each sub-query search result containing language to refine the search by incorporating limits or features of another sub-query. For example, a user may select to “show more ‘family restaurant’ closer to this ‘miniature golf’ result” which would allow the user to narrow down the results for a family restaurant by searching for those family restaurants near the chosen miniature golf venue. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary user interface, such as UI  122  on client computing device  120 , displaying results provided by searching program  124 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0028]    Text  310  is the original search query entered into UI  122 . Composite search results ranked and presented to the user for the original search query are displayed on tab  320 . Search results for each sub-query, here, “t-shirt sale” and “latest movie”, are ranked and shown on tab  322  and tab  324 , respectively. In  FIG. 3 , displayed currently is tab  322 , which includes search results for “t-shirt sale,” shown by text block  330  and text block  340 . In the exemplary embodiment, shown below each sub-query search result is a hyperlink, hyperlink  332  and hyperlink  342 , to refine the sub-query search results with a search using limits of another sub-query. Selection of hyperlink  332  or hyperlink  342  would allow a user to refine and narrow down search results for “latest movie” locations by searching for “latest movie” near the chosen “t-shirt sale”, resulting in movie theaters near the chosen t-shirt store. 
         [0029]      FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of components of client computing device  120 , in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 4  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made. 
         [0030]    Client computing device  120  includes communications fabric  402 , which provides communications between computer processor(s)  404 , memory  406 , persistent storage  408 , communications unit  410 , and input/output (I/O) interface(s)  412 . Communications fabric  402  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric  402  can be implemented with one or more buses. 
         [0031]    Memory  406  and persistent storage  408  are computer-readable storage media. In this embodiment, memory  406  includes random access memory (RAM)  414  and cache memory  416 . In general, memory  406  can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media. 
         [0032]    Searching program  124  is stored in persistent storage  408  for execution by one or more of the respective computer processors  404  via one or more memories of memory  406 . In this embodiment, persistent storage  408  includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage  408  can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer-readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. 
         [0033]    The media used by persistent storage  408  may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  408 . Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage  408 . 
         [0034]    Communications unit  410 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices, including between client computing device  120  and server computing device  130 . In these examples, communications unit  410  includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit  410  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Searching program  124  may be downloaded to persistent storage  408  through communications unit  410 . 
         [0035]    I/O interface(s)  412  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to client computing device  120 . For example, I/O interface  412  may provide a connection to external devices  418  such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External devices  418  can also include portable computer-readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g., searching program  124 , can be stored on such portable computer-readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage  408  via I/O interface(s)  412 . I/O interface(s)  412  also connect to a display  420 . Display  420  provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor or an incorporated display screen, such as is used in tablet computers and smart phones. 
         [0036]    The programs described herein are identified based upon the application for which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. 
         [0037]    The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.