Patent Publication Number: US-11036747-B2

Title: Systems and methods for providing a visualizable results list

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/092,999, filed Apr. 7, 2016 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING A VISUALIZABLE RESULTS LIST,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     The present specification generally relates to providing search results and, more particularly, to systems and methods that provide search results with visuals to assist a user in determining which results closely match the user&#39;s desired needs. 
     Technical Background 
     Currently, researchers, upon conducting a search in a particular database, are presented with search results that may be ranked according to certain criteria, such as a date, number of hits, a determined relevance, a type of result, and/or the like. However, the determined ranking of results may not correspond to the researcher&#39;s desired ranking methodology. In addition, the results may not provide the researcher with a visualizable means of reordering the ranking according to the researcher&#39;s desired ranking methodology. Even more, the results do not provide the user with sufficient pertinent information from each hit in the results list such that the user can determine whether the hit is relevant. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for systems and methods that provide search results with a high malleability and a visualizable means of reordering and re-ranking the results that correspond to a particular researcher&#39;s desired ranking methodology and provide the user with sufficient pertinent information from each hit in the results list such that the user can decide whether a hit is relevant to his or her search. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, a method of displaying a visualizable results list includes receiving, by a processing device, a search query including a plurality of search terms, grouping, by the processing device, the plurality of search terms into a plurality of units, where each of the plurality of units includes a related one or more of the plurality of search terms, accessing, by the processing device, metadata for each document in a plurality of search results that corresponds to the search query, annotating, by the processing device, one or more locations in each document with a first indicator for each of the one or more search terms in a first unit of the plurality of units and a second indicator for each of the one or more search terms in a second unit of the plurality of units based on the metadata, and displaying, by the processing device, a visualizable results list comprising the search results with the first indicator and the second indicator. 
     In another embodiment, a system for displaying a visualizable results list includes a processing device and a non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium in communication with the processing device. The non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium includes one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing device to receive a search query that includes a plurality of search terms and group the plurality of search terms into a plurality of units. Each of the plurality of units includes a related one or more of the plurality of search terms. The non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium further includes one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing device to access metadata for each document in a plurality of search results that corresponds to the search query, annotate one or more locations in each document with a first indicator for each of the one or more search terms in a first unit of the plurality of units and a second indicator for each of the one or more search terms in a second unit of the plurality of units based on the metadata, and display a visualizable results list comprising the search results with the first indicator and the second indicator. 
     In yet another embodiment, a computing system that displays a visualizable results list includes input/output hardware that receives a search query from a user, where the search query includes a plurality of search terms. The computing system also includes processing logic that groups the plurality of search terms into a plurality of units, where each of the plurality of units includes a related one or more of the plurality of search terms, accesses metadata for each document in a plurality of search results that corresponds to the search query, and annotates one or more locations in each document with a first indicator for each of the one or more search terms in a first unit of the plurality of units and a second indicator for each of the one or more search terms in a second unit of the plurality of units based on the metadata. The computing system also includes a display that displays a visualizable results list comprising the search results with the first indicator and the second indicator. 
     These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic depiction of an illustrative computing network for a system for providing a visualizable results list according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic depiction of the server computing device from  FIG. 1 , further illustrating hardware and software that may be used in providing a visualizable results list according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a block diagram of an illustrative overview of generating and rendering a visualizable results display according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a screen shot of an illustrative user interface for searching according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative method of grouping terms into units according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 6  depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative method of selecting top scoring units according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 7  depicts an illustrative table of unit scores according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 8  depicts a flow diagram of an illustrative method of displaying results annotated with units according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 9  depicts a screen shot of an illustrative user interface displaying search results annotated with units according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 10  depicts a detailed screen shot of illustrative search results according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 11  depicts a screen shot of an illustrative full document view according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 12  depicts a screen shot of an alternative illustrative user interface displaying search results annotated with units according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 13  depicts a screen shot of the alternative user interface of  FIG. 12  with reordered search results according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 14  depicts a screen shot of the alternative user interface of  FIG. 12  with a pop-up display according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 15  depicts a detailed screen shot of illustrative search results in the alternative user interface of  FIG. 12  according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; 
         FIG. 16  depicts a screen shot of the alternative user interface of  FIG. 12  with a plurality of expanded bars according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and 
         FIG. 17  depicts a screen shot of the alternative user interface of  FIG. 12  with a proto variable controller pop up box according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring generally to the figures, embodiments described herein are directed to systems and methods for providing a visualizable list of search results to a user that are based on the user&#39;s search query. Particularly, the systems and methods described herein provide a collection of documents returned from a query along with visual representations that depict “hit patterns” at an aggregated list level and/or at a document level. The systems and methods described herein further provide one or more interactive features that enable the user to alternatively rank the results list based on one or more document attributes. In addition, the systems and methods described herein provide pertinent information from each document that is retrieved by the user as a result of the search such that the user is able to more easily determine whether the document is germane to the information the user seeks to obtain. 
     As will be described in greater detail herein, a researcher using the systems and methods described herein may enter a search phrase (either Boolean or non-Boolean) and receive a list of results that correspond to the search phrase, which may be the result of the use of one or more tokens from the search phrase. For each result in the list of results, the systems and methods described herein may provide a link to the document and a hit pattern that provides additional information regarding the location of search terms within the document, the location of particular groupings of search terms within the document, document sections, and/or the like. In addition, in response to one or more inputs, the systems and methods described herein may provide excerpts of the document to the researcher, where the excerpts relate to the hit pattern. Such excerpts may be provided without the need for the user to access each document individually. As such, the researcher can quickly determine whether the document is germane to his/her search without having to spend excessive time reading through the remainder of the document. 
     As will be apparent from the present disclosure, the systems and methods described herein may be particularly configured to increase a researcher&#39;s productivity when conducting a search by providing a malleable user interface that is particularly configured to accurately provide pertinent information the researcher needs to make an informed decision regarding search results and to determine whether particular documents discovered within the results are relevant. That is, the results are displayed in a manner that is intuitive to the user and provides the user with an ability to alter the display as necessary to obtain the needed information, unlike previous means of displaying results, which merely allowed for re-sorting and/or filtering of a results list based on particular preset conditions. In addition, the systems and methods described herein improve the functioning of a computing device by customizing the way the computing device provides search results for a particular user without requiring additional computing power. As such, the computing device becomes particularly customized for each of a plurality of users, all at the same time, without requiring additional computing power to do so. 
     While the systems and methods described herein may refer to specific examples relating to legal research, including case law, statute, and/or legal treatise research, it should be understood that such examples are merely illustrative and the present disclosure is not limited to such instances. Rather, the systems and methods described herein may be implemented in any field of research, regardless of whether such fields are particularly described herein. For example, the systems and methods may be implemented within the realm of academic research, scientific research, and/or the like. 
     As used herein, the term “researcher” refers generally to any user that uses the systems and methods described herein to conduct research. As such, the terms “researcher” and “user” may be used interchangeably herein. Examples of researchers may include, but are not limited to, legal researchers, academic researchers, scientific researchers, general researchers, and/or the like. 
     As used herein, a “document” generally refers to a collection of text within a search result. The document may correspond to an electronic document or a physical document, but may be displayed to a user as text within a user interface (such as a web browser screen or the like). As such, a document is generally a single search result within a collection of search results, as such terms are used herein. An illustrative document may contain, for example, the text of a court opinion as reported by a particular reporter. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  depicts an illustrative computing network that depicts components for a system for providing a search interface and a visualizable results list according to embodiments shown and described herein. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a computer network  10  may include a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a mobile communications network, a public service telephone network (PSTN), a personal area network (PAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a virtual private network (VPN), and/or another network. The computer network  10  may generally be configured to electronically connect one or more computing devices and/or components thereof. Illustrative computing devices may include, but are not limited to, a user computing device  12   a , a server computing device  12   b , and an administrator computing device  12   c.    
     The user computing device  12   a  may generally be used as an interface between the user (e.g., the researcher) and the other components connected to the computer network  10 . Thus, the user computing device  12   a  may be used to perform one or more user-facing functions, such as receiving one or more inputs from a user or providing information to the user, as described in greater detail herein. Accordingly, the user computing device  12   a  may include at least a display and/or input hardware, as described in greater detail herein. Additionally, included in  FIG. 1  is the administrator computing device  12   c . In the event that the server computing device  12   b  requires oversight, updating, or correction, the administrator computing device  12   c  may be configured to provide the desired oversight, updating, and/or correction. The administrator computing device  12   c  may also be used to input additional data into the corpus stored on the server computing device  12   b.    
     The server computing device  12   b  may receive data from one or more sources, store data, index data, search data, and/or provide data to the user computing device  12   a  in the form of search results, visual representations such as hit patterns, documents, excerpts from one or more documents, and/or the like. 
     It should be understood that while the user computing device  12   a  and the administrator computing device  12   c  are depicted as personal computers and the server computing device  12   b  is depicted as a server, these are nonlimiting examples. More specifically, in some embodiments, any type of computing device (e.g., mobile computing device, personal computer, server, etc.) may be used for any of these components. Additionally, while each of these computing devices is illustrated in  FIG. 1  as a single piece of hardware, this is also merely an example. More specifically, each of the user computing device  12   a , server computing device  12   b , and administrator computing device  12   c  may represent a plurality of computers, servers, databases, components, and/or the like. 
       FIG. 2  depicts the server computing device  12   b , from  FIG. 1 , further illustrating a system for receiving data from one or more sources, storing data, indexing data, searching data, and/or providing data. In addition, the server computing device  12   b  may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium for searching and providing data embodied as hardware, software, and/or firmware, according to embodiments shown and described herein. While in some embodiments the server computing device  12   b  may be configured as a general purpose computer with the requisite hardware, software, and/or firmware, in some embodiments, the server computing device  12   b  may also be configured as a special purpose computer designed specifically for performing the functionality described herein. 
     As also illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the server computing device  12   b  may include a processor  30 , input/output hardware  32 , network interface hardware  34 , a data storage component  36  (which may store analytic data  38   a , document corpus data  38   b , and other data  38   c ), and a non-transitory memory component  40 . The memory component  40  may be configured as volatile and/or nonvolatile computer readable medium and, as such, may include random access memory (including SRAM, DRAM, and/or other types of random access memory), flash memory, registers, compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD), and/or other types of storage components. Additionally, the memory component  40  may be configured to store various processing logic, such as operating logic  42 , search logic  44 , list display logic  46 , and/or detailed display logic  48  (each of which may be embodied as a computer program, firmware, or hardware, as an example). A local interface  50  is also included in  FIG. 2  and may be implemented as a bus or other interface to facilitate communication among the components of the server computing device  12   b.    
     The processor  30  may include any processing component configured to receive and execute instructions (such as from the data storage component  36  and/or memory component  40 ). The input/output hardware  32  may include a monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, camera, microphone, speaker, touch-screen, and/or other device for receiving, sending, and/or presenting data. The network interface hardware  34  may include any wired or wireless networking hardware, such as a modem, LAN port, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) card, WiMax card, mobile communications hardware, and/or other hardware for communicating with other networks and/or devices. 
     It should be understood that the data storage component  36  may reside local to and/or remote from the server computing device  12   b  and may be configured to store one or more pieces of data and selectively provide access to the one or more pieces of data. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the data storage component  36  may store analytic data  38   a , document corpus data  38   b , and/or other data  38   c , as described in greater detail herein. 
     Included in the memory component  40  are the operating logic  42 , the search logic  44 , the list display logic  46 , and/or the detailed display logic  48 . The operating logic  42  may include an operating system and/or other software for managing components of the server computing device  12   b . The search logic  44  may be configured to generate search queries from a user input within the graphical user interface. The list display logic  46  may generate and display a list of search hits or documents uncovered from the search logic  44 , as well as visual representations for user manipulation, as described in detail below. The detailed display logic  48  may be configured to generate and display additional details regarding a particular element of the list generated and displayed by the list display logic  46 , including a document, a hit pattern, and/or a hit list within a document, as described in detail below. 
     It should be understood that the components illustrated in  FIG. 2  are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. More specifically, while the components in  FIG. 2  are illustrated as residing within the server computing device  12   b , this is a nonlimiting example. In some embodiments, one or more of the components may reside external to the server computing device  12   b . Similarly, while  FIG. 2  is directed to the server computing device  12   b , other components such as the user computing device  12   a  and the administrator computing device  12   c  may include similar hardware, software, and/or firmware. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a block diagram of an illustrative method of providing a visualizable results list. At step  300 , a query is received. The query is generally one or more search terms (e.g., words) inputted by a user. More particularly, the user may desire to discover one or more search results (e.g., documents or the like) that pertain to a particular subject, a particular set of circumstances, and/or the like. As such, the user inputs the query as a set of one or more search terms that the user believes will result in the search and retrieval of the search results desired by the user. The query may be in any query format now known or later developed, such as, for example, a natural language query, a Boolean query, or the like. A natural language query is a request for data that is set forth in a natural language, such as English, Spanish, French, German, or the like. As such, a user may enter a natural language query by inputting any combination of words or phrases. In some embodiments, a user may input a natural language query in the form of a question, i.e., the user may desire to retrieve search results that would answer the question that is inputted. A Boolean query is a request for data that is set forth as one or more terms separated by specific syntax that indicates the relationship between the terms. Illustrative syntax may include the words “AND” and “OR”. 
     To receive the query, a system (or component thereof, such as a computing device) may provide a search field in a user interface, where the query can be inputted into the search field by a user via a user interface device. For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the user computing device may provide the search field as a user-modifiable text box  405  within a user interface  400  that is displayed to the user on a display device or the like. A user can enter text into the text box  405  via one or more user input devices, such as the input/output hardware  32  ( FIG. 2 ) described herein. A nonlimiting example of a query entered into the text box  405  may be the terms “sports”, “antitrust”, and “exemption”. Such a query may indicate, for example, that the user desires to retrieve search results regarding antitrust exemptions that are related to sports. 
     In some embodiments, the computing device may also provide additional user-selectable menu items  410  via the user interface  400  in addition to the user-modifiable text box  405  to further tailor the user&#39;s search query. Such user-selectable menu items  410  may, for example, allow the user to specify a particular location to search for the query terms, such as in all available resources, only within particular databases and/or document categories, within particular sections of documents, and/or the like. As particularly shown in  FIG. 4 , the user-selectable menu items  410  may be presented as a drop-down box that lists the various options for a user to select. Once the user has entered the text into the text box  405  and selected the user-selectable menu items  410 , the user may trigger the search query to be submitted. Such a trigger may be, for example, when a user strikes the “enter” button on a keyboard, selects a search button  415  presented via the user interface  400 , and/or the like. 
     It should be understood that the user interface  400  presented in  FIG. 4  is merely an illustrative example of one possible means of receiving a query. As such, other means of receiving a query are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, a query may be input via a speech input and/or the like. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , the system may execute a search based on the query, as shown at step  305 . Executing the search may be completed at any time after the search query is received, and may occur concurrently with one or more of the other processes described herein with respect to  FIG. 3 . Execution of the search may be completed via any searching method now known or later developed, and is not limited by this disclosure. 
     At step  310 , the system may determine whether the received query is a Boolean query. Such a determination may be completed by analyzing the query and determining whether the query contains the specific syntax that is generally recognized as Boolean syntax. As previously described herein, such syntax includes, but is not limited to, words such as “AND” and “OR”. In some embodiments, the query may only be recognized as Boolean if the specific syntax is in a particular format (e.g., all caps or the like). 
     If the determination indicates that the query is Boolean, the various words of the query may be grouped based on the structure of the query. More specifically, words or phrases that are separated by an “OR” term may be recognized as being alternative search terms that can be grouped together as a single element for the purposes of displaying search results. That is, if a user inputs the following Boolean phrase “basketball OR football”, the system may search for documents containing either word (as is typical for Boolean queries); however, for the purposes of displaying the results, the system may group the words “basketball” and “football” together as if they were the same term for the purpose of providing visualizable search results, the same unit associated with a particular meaning, and/or interchangeable terms, as described in greater detail herein. 
     If the determination is that the query is not Boolean, the system may skip step  315  and proceed directly to step  320 . In addition, once step  315  is completed for Boolean queries, the system may proceed to step  320 . At step  320 , the search terms (e.g., words and phrases) are grouped based on a recognition that certain terms are synonymous or interchangeable for the purposes of displaying the results. That is, similar to that as described with respect to step  315 , the groupings are only completed for the purposes of displaying the results, and do not affect the searching. As such, the search is carried out in a typical fashion (i.e., the search is conducted by any means of searching now known or later developed). 
     The terms of the query may be grouped at step  320  by accessing one or more databases to determine groupings. Such databases include, but are not limited to, a wildcard thesaurus database  325 , a synonym database  330 , and a phrases database  335 . A wildcard thesaurus database  325  is a database that contains certain wildcard terms that are recognized as being synonyms for the purposes of grouping search results as described herein. For example, if a query includes the term “sport”, a wildcard thesaurus database  325  may include terms that have a wildcard relation to the terms “sport*”, “sport!”, “!sport”, “*sport”, or the like, including, but not limited to, “sports”, “sporting”, “sportsmanship”, “sporty”, “sportscast”, “sportswear”, “multisport”, “transport”, “passport”, and the like. A synonym database  330  is a database that contains recognized synonyms of words, including words that may not be exact synonyms, but convey a similar meaning as the term. For example, a synonym database  330  may include, for the term “sport”, exact synonyms such as “athletics”, “game”, “recreation”, “pastime”, or the like, as well as other words that convey a similar meaning, such as “football”, “basketball”, “tennis”, “hockey”, “baseball”, and the like. A phrases database  335  is a database that contains recognized phrases, even when such phrases are not bound by common phrase indicators (such as, for example, quotation marks). For example, certain phrases in the phrase database may allow for recognition that when the words “basketball” and “game” appear consecutively in a query, they are treated as the phrase “basketball game” even though the words are not entered with phrase indicators. In some embodiments, the phrases database  335  may be specific to a particular field in which the query is being searched. For example, if the searching is related to legal databases (e.g., a search engine that searches case law, statutes, legal treatises, and/or the like), the phrases database  335  may be specific to particular legal terms, such as “fee simple”, “beyond a reasonable doubt”, or the like. Such terms may or may not be recognized as phrases outside the legal context. Additional detail regarding grouping of the query terms for the purposes of displaying the results is shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     At step  500 , a term may be determined from the query. The term may be a word, a phrase, and/or the like. If the query is a Boolean query, each term may be separated by one of the syntax terms/words. Thus, for example, if the Boolean query is “antitrust exemptions AND sports OR basketball OR football”, a determination may be that the terms include the phrase “antitrust exemptions” and each of the words “sports”, “basketball”, and “football”. If the query is a natural language query, each word of the query may initially be deemed a term, unless certain punctuation is present in the query. Thus, if the natural language query is “what “antitrust exemptions” exist in sports, particularly football and basketball?”, each word in the query would be considered a term except for “antitrust exemptions” because it is bounded between quotation marks. 
     At step  505 , a determined term is selected for the purposes of grouping. For example, if the determination of the terms from the query is “antitrust exemptions” and “sports”, then either “antitrust exemptions” or “sports” may be selected. As will be described in greater detail herein, all terms in the query will eventually be selected for the purposes of grouping, so selecting a term at step  505  is not limited to a particular selection methodology. For example, a term may be selected because it appears first in the query or because it is the next term in the query (when the previous term has already been selected). 
     At step  510 , a determination may be made as to whether the term is a noise word or a noise phrase. Noise words/phrases are generally words/phrases that are non-key words/phrases that, if searched, would likely not narrow the search results because of their commonality. As such, noise words and noise phrases are terms and phrases that are generally unhelpful in identifying the subject matter of a document. Nonlimiting examples of noise words include “a”, “the”, “an”, “of”, “to”, “on”, and the like. If the term is a noise word or noise phrase, it may be discarded at step  515  and the process may return to step  505 . Noise words and noise phrases are generally discarded because a user likely will not be interested in noise words/phrases when visualizing the search results, as described in greater detail herein. 
     If the term is not a noise word or noise phrase, the process may proceed to step  520 . At step  520 , one or more databases may be searched for the term. As previously described above, the databases may generally be databases that are specific to determining a grouping of like terms for the purposes of displaying the search results. That is, the databases are particular databases that are used to determine query grouping, including wildcard thesaurus databases, synonym databases, and phrase databases. 
     At step  525 , a determination is made as to whether a match for the term is found in one or more of the databases. If no match is found, the term is returned as an ungrouped term at step  530 . That is, the term is not grouped together with other terms for the purposes of displaying the search results as described herein. Rather, the term alone may be indicated as being different from other units, as described in greater detail herein. 
     If a match is found, the list of synonyms for the term is parsed at step  535  and compared with the remaining terms at step  540  to determine whether a match exists. For example, if the query includes the terms “sports”, “basketball”, and “football” and a match for the term “sports” is found in the database, the synonyms for the term “sports” in that database may be parsed to determine whether any of the synonyms match the terms “basketball” and “football”. If, based on a determination at step  545  that matches are not found, the term is returned as ungrouped at step  530 . 
     If, based on the determination at step  545  that matches are found between the remaining terms in the query and the synonym list, the terms are grouped together at step  550 . That is, when the search results are displayed, the grouped terms will appear together as similarly colored indicators or the like, as described herein. However, the terms will still be applied separately for the purposes of conducting the search, as described herein. In a nonlimiting example, if the terms “football” and “basketball” both appear in the synonym list for the term “sports”, all three terms will be grouped together such that the search results only display the grouping of those three terms with a single colored indicator rather than each of the three terms individually as separately colored indicators. 
     At step  555 , a determination may be made as to whether additional terms remain in the query that either have not been grouped together or returned as ungrouped. If additional terms remain, the process may return to step  505 . If no additional terms remain, the list(s) of grouped and ungrouped terms may be provided at step  560 . Providing the list(s) may generally include storing the lists in memory for future access, as will be described in greater detail herein. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , once the terms have been grouped or determined to be ungrouped, a determination may be made at step  340  as to whether the query contains a number of units that is above or below a particular threshold. A unit refers to a group of terms or a single term if the term is ungrouped. Such a determination may be desirable because an excessive amount of units (e.g., an amount above the threshold number) may result in a results list that appears to be cluttered (i.e., too many differently colored indicators) and may be difficult for a user to find certain results that are germane to the user&#39;s search goals. While step  340  refers to a threshold of 5 units, such a number is merely illustrative and the present disclosure is not limited to such. That is, the threshold may be any number of units without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. An illustrative threshold may be, for example, 2 units, 3 units, 4 units, 5 units, 6 units, or 7 units. 
     If the query has a number of units that is greater than the threshold, the query may be analyzed and unit reduction scores may be determined at step  360 . As used herein, a unit reduction score is a score assigned to each unit based on one or more criteria. In some embodiments, units having a higher unit reduction score are more likely to be units that are displayed for the purposes of visualizing search results than units with a lower unit reduction score. 
     The unit reduction score for each unit may be determined by accessing one or more databases and assigning a score based on information contained in the database. Illustrative databases include, but are not limited to, a user analytics database  365 , a results metadata database  370 , a personal user history database  375 , a topic taxonomy database  380 , a document corpus database  385 , and a similar user history database  390 . 
     Referring also to  FIG. 6 , additional detail regarding the determination of the reduction score is depicted. At step  605 , a unit is selected for scoring and a determination is made as to whether the unit is one that is rare or one that is commonly used by the user at step  610 . That is, various search histories, such as the user&#39;s search history, may be reviewed to determine if the unit is a term or group of terms that has been used in the past. The search history may be reviewed by accessing one or more databases, such as, for example, the user analytics database  365  and/or the personal user history database  375  and comparing database entries with one or more terms from the unit. If the unit is not commonly used (i.e., it is a rare term), then one or more points are assigned to the unit at step  615 . The number of points that are assigned is not limited by this disclosure, and may be based upon any scoring methodology. In a nonlimiting example, 1 point may be assigned if the unit (or a search term therefrom) is rare. In another nonlimiting example, points may be assigned according to a scale of how frequently the unit (or a search term therefrom) has been used in the past such that more frequently used units receive fewer points than less frequently used units.  FIG. 7  depicts an illustrative table of points that are assigned based on how often particular term combinations are used. In some embodiments, if the unit is commonly used by the user, points may not be assigned. 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 3 and 6 , at step  620 , a determination is made as to whether the unit is closely associated with terms having semantic similarities. For example, if a unit includes the term “adverse possession” and metadata retrieved from the search results indicate that a large proportion of the search results relate to real estate, which is semantically similar to “adverse possession” and the term “adverse possession” is used in close proximity with other real estate terms (e.g., in the same sentence, the same phrase, the same paragraph, or the like), a determination may be made that the term has a high value because of its close topical (e.g., spatial) proximity to semantically similar terms. Such a determination may be made by accessing one or more databases such as, for example, the results metadata database  370 , the topic taxonomy database  380 , and/or the document corpus database  385 . Higher value terms (e.g., terms in close proximity to semantically similar terms) may be assigned one or more points may be assigned to the unit at step  625 . Similar to that as described above, the number of points that are assigned is not limited by this disclosure and may be based upon any scoring methodology. If the unit is not in close proximity to semantically similar terms, points may not be assigned. 
     In some embodiments, particularly embodiments where the search is a legal related search (e.g., a statute search, a case law search, a legal treatise search, and/or the like), a determination may be made as to whether the unit is related to a particular legal topic. For example, a unit that contains the term “adverse possession” may be recognized as being related to real estate law rather than another legal topic. Such a determination may be made, for example, by searching one or more databases, such as the topic taxonomy database  380  and/or the document corpus database  385  and comparing entries in the database with one or more terms from the unit. If the unit is related to a particular legal topic, one or more points may be assigned to the unit at step  635 . Similar to that as described above, the number of points that are assigned is not limited by this disclosure and may be based upon any scoring methodology. If the unit is not related to a particular legal topic, points may not be assigned. 
     At step  640 , a determination is made as to whether the unit is related to a document corpus. For example, if the unit contains the terms “basketball” and “football”, it may be recognized as being related to a sports document corpus. Such a determination may be made, for example, by searching one or more databases, such as the topic taxonomy database  380  and/or the document corpus database  385  and comparing entries in the database with one or more terms from the unit. In some embodiments, terms from the topic taxonomy database  380  and/or the document corpus database  385  may be weighted according to what extent they have co-occurred with other query terms in close proximity within other documents. If the unit is related to a document corpus, one or more points may be assigned to the unit at step  645 . Similar to that as described above, the number of points that are assigned is not limited by this disclosure and may be based upon any scoring methodology. If the unit is not related to a document corpus, points may not be assigned. 
     At step  640 , a determination is made as to whether the unit is related to units that have been searched by other users. For example, if multiple users have searched for the terms “basketball”, “football”, and “sports”, it may be determined that such a unit that contains one or more of these terms is related to the other user&#39;s searched units. Such a determination may be made, for example, by searching one or more databases, such as the similar user history database  390  and comparing entries in the database with one or more terms from the unit. If the unit is related to similar users&#39; searches, one or more points may be assigned to the unit at step  655 . However, such a determination is not limited by this disclosure, and other analyses using other assets may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Similar to that as described above, the number of points that are assigned is not limited by this disclosure and may be based upon any scoring methodology. If the unit is not related to similar users&#39; searches, points may not be assigned. 
     At step  660 , the number of points assigned to the unit may be tallied and logged in a file. Thereafter, a determination may be made as to whether additional units are to be assigned points in step  665 . If additional units are to be assigned points, the process may repeat at step  605  until all units have been assigned points. 
     If no additional units exist, a document containing the tally of the number of points assigned to each unit may be reordered and ranked according to their scores at step  670 . For example, units having a greater amount of points may be ranked ahead of units having a lower amount of points. However, other methods of tallying may be completed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the tally may be according to a particular formula rather than a sum of the points. At step  675 , the top scoring units up to the threshold amount may be selected as the units to be displayed. For example, if the threshold is 5 units, the top 5 units may be selected. Similarly, if the threshold is 3 units, the top 3 units may be selected. 
     Returning to  FIG. 3 , at step  395 , the top scoring units are kept. It should generally be understood that step  395  may be an equivalent of step  675  of  FIG. 6 . While step  395  indicates the top 5 scoring units, it should be understood that the threshold may be greater than or less than 5 units, as previously described herein. Thus, if the threshold is 3, only 3 of the top scoring units may be kept at step  395 . 
     Once the number of units is at or less than the threshold, the metadata of each document in the search results may be retrieved at step  345  by accessing a results metadata database  355 . The results metadata database  355  is generally a database containing metadata for each of the documents that appears in the search results. That is, the search that is conducted concurrently with the steps described herein (e.g., at step  305 ) returns one or more results. In some embodiments, the results metadata database  355  may be the same results metadata database  370  previously described herein. Metadata for each of the results is stored in the results metadata database  355 .  FIG. 8  provides additional detail with respect to retrieving metadata. 
     At step  805 , a unit is selected and at step  810 , the results metadata database is accessed. The results metadata database may be accessed via an interface, as described herein. The metadata of the search results is searched at step  815  to determine one or more locations of each term from the unit within each document in the search results at step  820 . Once the one or more locations have been determined, each document in the search results may be annotated to indicate the location(s) at step  825 . The process may repeat at step  805  for each of the units, as indicated by the determination of whether additional units exist at step  830 . As such, each unit will be annotated in the document by a unique annotation (e.g., a first indicator, a second indicator, etc.) such that the units are distinguishable from one another based on the annotations. Once all of the units have been used to search the results metadata and annotate the results list, the results may be displayed with the annotations in step  835 . Referring again to  FIG. 3 , the annotated results may be displayed as a part of rendering the display at step  350 . 
     An illustrative display that may be rendered is depicted in  FIG. 9 . The display may generally include a user interface  900  with a search bar  905 , a results snapshot section  910 , and/or a results display  915 . The search bar  905  may contain the various components described herein with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
     The results snapshot section  910  may generally provide an overview of the search results divided into types of documents. For example, the results snapshot section  910  shown in  FIG. 9  divides the search results into categories  912  such as cases; statutes and legislation; administrative codes and regulations; administrative materials; secondary materials; forms; briefs, pleadings, and motions; jury instructions; jury verdicts and settlements; expert witness analysis; dockets; directories; news; legal news, scientific; company and financial; and web categories. The categories  912  are nonlimiting examples. As such, other categories may be present without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the results snapshot section  910  may show a number of search hits  914  that are present in each of the categories  912 . For example, the results snapshot section  910  indicates that 1,530 search results have been categorized as forms. In some embodiments, the results snapshot section  910  may be interactive such that a user can select particular results to be shown. For example, if a user only desires to see search results related to statutes and legislation, the user may select (e.g., click) the “statutes and legislation” in the categories  912 , which may cause the results display  915  to only display search results from that particular category, as described in greater detail herein. 
     The results display  915  generally includes a listing of the results of the search completed pursuant to the query submitted by the user. Each search result  920  may be displayed on one or more lines within the results display  915 . The content that is displayed for each search result  920  is not limited by this disclosure, and can be any type and amount of content, including a title, a citation, text regarding a detailed description, text regarding an overview, and/or the like. In embodiments where legal databases are searched, each search result  920  may include, for example, a case name  921  and/or a reporter citation  922 . Other information that may be included with each search result  920  may include, for example, a jurisdiction  923 , a date  924 , and/or the like. In some embodiments, each search result  920  may be expandable by the user to reveal additional information. For example, a user may select (e.g., click) a link in the search result  920  to display additional text regarding the result (e.g., a full document or the like) and/or hover a mouse pointer over a portion of the search result  920  to view additional information. 
     As a result of the steps described herein with respect to  FIGS. 3, 6, and 8 , each search result  920  may also include a hit pattern  925 . In general, the hit pattern  925  provides a visualization to the user that indicates the location of the various search terms of the programmatically determined most relevant parts of the document within the search result  920 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the hit pattern  925  may include a breakdown of various sections of the search results. For example, if the search result  920  is a court opinion, the hit pattern  925  may display the various sections of the court opinion, such as the summary section, the headnotes (e.g., keywords) section, the opinions section, and/or the various other sections. Such sections are merely illustrative, and it should be understood that alternative, additional, or fewer sections may be used. Within one or more of the sections, the hit pattern  925  may also display one or more hashes  926 . The hashes  926  may generally correspond to the indicators that have been annotated in the document, and indicate the location of a search term within each section, which allows a user to quickly and easily visualize where in the document the search terms are appearing, as well as a clustering of search terms. That is, a cluster of search terms may indicate an area of the document that is of greater interest to the user rather than a single search term that is isolated from other terms. 
     As described herein, a number of units may be displayed up to a particular threshold number. In order to distinguish each unit from each other within the hit pattern  925 , the hashes  926  may be color coded or otherwise contain a distinguishing feature according to the unit that each hash  926  represents. As such, the user interface  900  may further include a legend  930  that indicates which color corresponds to each unit. For example, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the legend  930  may indicate a first color for the term “sport”, a second color for the term “antitrust”, and a third color for the term “exemption”. As such, when a user views the search result  920 , he/she can immediately recognize which search terms are showing up in the document, where they appear with respect to the document, whether they are clustered or spread out, and where they appear in relation to one another. In addition, when a unit contains a plurality of search terms, each of the search terms in that unit will be coded with the same distinguishing feature (e.g., the terms “football”, “basketball”, and “sports” may all have the same color hashes  926 ). 
     While  FIG. 9  relates generally to a color coded hit pattern  925  using colored hashes  926  to distinguish between units in a document, the present disclosure is not limited to such. For example, in some embodiments, the hit pattern  925  may utilize various different shadings for the hashes  926  to distinguish between units or may utilize other means of distinguishing between units without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     In some embodiments, if a user desires to obtain additional information regarding a document in a search result  920 , but does not want to access the entire document and scroll through it to find the hits, the user may select (e.g., click or hover a mouse pointer over) one or more of the hashes  926  and/or clusters of hashes  926  (e.g., a cluster bound by a box  927 ) to cause a overlay area  935  to appear on the results display  915 . The overlay area  935  may show, for example, an excerpted version of the text of the document with the search terms highlighted so that the user can quickly determine whether the excerpted area is relevant to the search and move on to other sections or documents without having to navigate back to a previous screen, re-run a search, and/or the like. The portion of the text that is selected as the excerpted version may be automatically determined as a “best excerpt” based on a cluster of units, may be a particular section, may be a section that is well recognized in seminal and/or landmark cases, a section that contains a discussion of public policy, a section that has a relevance that exceeds a threshold for inclusion, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the portion of the text that is selected as the excerpted version may by visually differentiated from the rest of the text (e.g., highlighting, bold text, etc.) or made salient (e.g., entities, phrases, document references, etc.) In embodiments where a cluster containing a plurality of different units is selected by the user, the distinguishing feature (e.g., color) of the highlighting in the overlay area  935  may correspond to the color of the hash  926  used for a particular unit, as shown in  FIG. 10 . As such, the user may be able to quickly distinguish between terms in the overlay area  935  to obtain the information needed. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 9 , in some embodiments, the legend  930  may contain check boxes or the like that would allow the user to select or deselect certain units. For example, a user may deselect a particular unit from the legend  930  (e.g., by clicking on the unit), which may cause the hashes  926  in the hit pattern  925  corresponding to that unit to disappear. Similarly, the highlighting of the terms from the unit would no longer be highlighted in the overlay area  935 . However, it should be understood that selecting or unselecting a particular unit from the legend  930  merely affects the display of the results and does not alter the actual search (i.e., the terms from the unit are still present as search terms and the search results still incorporate the terms therein). 
     In some embodiments, the user may desire to see the entire document instead of particular excerpts from the document. In such embodiments, the user may select (e.g., click) the search result  920  (e.g., a document title or the like), which may result in a whole document view  1100 , as shown in  FIG. 11 . In some embodiments, the user may click on, or otherwise select, the overlay area  935 , which may open up the whole document view  1100  as shown in  FIG. 11  to the section within the document containing the excerpted text in the overlay area  935 . Similar to the results view shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the whole document view  1100  of  FIG. 11  also displays the hit pattern  925  with the hashes  926  and highlights the search terms within a document display area  940  in a color corresponding to the hashes  926 . 
     It should be understood that the user interface  900  described with respect to  FIGS. 9-11  is merely illustrative, and other user interfaces that utilize the information obtained from the steps described herein to provide ordered search results to a user are contemplated and possible. For example, in some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 12 , an alternative user interface  1200  may include an alternative hit pattern section  1225  for each of the one or more search results  1220 . More particularly, the alternative hit pattern section  1225  may be a bar graph indicating the total number of hits in each of the one or more search results  1220  for each unit, which may also be referred to as a “sparkline” visualization. That is, a first bar  1250  may indicate the total number of hits for a first unit, a second bar  1255  may indicate the total number of hits for a second unit, and a third bar  1260  may indicate the total number of hits for a third unit. The larger the bar (i.e., the taller in length of the bar), the greater number of hits that are present in the particular search results. For example, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the search result “J. S. v. Blue Mt. Sch. Dist.” indicates an alternative hit pattern section  1225  whereby the second bar  1255  has a greater amount of hits than the first bar  1250  and the third bar  1260 . As indicated by the legend  1230 , the second bar  1255  corresponds to the search term “school”. As such, a user, upon viewing the alternative hit pattern section  1225 , may recognize that the search result “J. S. v. Blue Mt. Sch. Dist.” uses the term “school” often. In some embodiments, the bars  1250 ,  1255 ,  1260  may be sized according to their respective proportionality. That is, if a search result uses the term “school” twice as often as the term “internet”, then the second bar  1255  (corresponding to the term “school”) may be twice as tall as the third bar  1260  (corresponding to the term “internet”). In some embodiments, the bars  1250 ,  1255 ,  1260  may relate to hits for the entire document, hits in a particular section or plurality of sections, and/or the like. 
     Referring also to  FIG. 13 , in some embodiments, the alternative user interface  1200  may provide the user with an ability to reorder the search results  1220  by indicating in alternative hit pattern section  1225  which terms have a greater interest. That is, if a user desires to see the search results  1220  that contain the most mentions of the term “school” at the top of the results, the user may select a corresponding one of the reorder buttons  1265  (e.g., the center one of the reorder buttons  1265 ), which will reorder the search results  1220  accordingly. Similarly, if the user desires to reorder the search results to indicate which search results include the most mentions of the term “school” and the term “internet” at the top of the results, the user may select the corresponding two of the reorder buttons  1265 , which will reorder the search results  1220  accordingly. It should be understood that the reorder buttons  1265  may also be used to reorder the search results  1220  to show a least amount of hits at the top of the results and may also be used to reorder the search results  1220  to show the results having the most evenly distributed amount of the terms (e.g., the various terms appear in substantially equal amounts with respect to each other) at the top of the results. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 14 , in some embodiments, the alternative user interface  1200  may present a pop-up display  1270  when activated by a user. The pop-up display  1270  may be activated, for example, when a user hovers over a particular area of the alternative user interface  1200 , such as one of the search results  1220 . Other means of activating the pop-up display  1270  are contemplated and possible. The pop-up display  1270  may generally present additional information regarding the particular one of the search results  1220  without requiring a user to fully open the document to view its contents. For example, as shown in  FIG. 14 , the pop-up display  1270  may provide information relating to an overview section of a document presented in the search results  1220 . In some embodiments, various terms may be highlighted in the text of the pop-up display  1270 . 
     As an alternative to the pop-up display  1270 , in some embodiments, the alternative user interface  1200  may expand to display a detailed results section  1275 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . The detailed results section  1275  may be similar to the pop-up display  1270  ( FIG. 14 ) and/or the overlay area  935  ( FIG. 9 ). That is, the detailed results section  1275  may provide additional information regarding a particular one of the search results  1220  without requiring a user to fully open the document to view its contents. For example, as shown in  FIG. 15 , the detailed results section  1275  may provide one or more selected portions of the text of a document from the search results  1220 , such as, for example, portions containing search terms, which may be highlighted, as described in greater detail herein. In addition, a user may select one of the bars  1250 ,  1255 ,  1260  to cause the detailed results section  1275  to display text of the document that includes keywords corresponding to the selected one of the bars  1250 ,  1255 ,  1260 . For example, if a user selects the third bar  1260 , which corresponds to the search term “internet”, the detailed results section  1275  may display a portion of the text that includes the term “internet” therein. In addition, the term “internet” may be highlighted within the displayed text. 
     In some embodiments, the alternative user interface  1200  may provide a navigable expanded detailed results section  1275 , as shown in  FIG. 16 . More specifically, the bars  1250 ,  1255 ,  1260  may each expand into a plurality of bars when the detailed results section  1275  is expanded, thereby allowing a user to select one or more of the plurality of expanded bars  1280 ,  1285 ,  1290  to display various portions of the text of the document in the detailed results section  1275 . Such embodiments may allow a user to more efficiently inspect documents from the search list by navigating between excerpts and/or various locations in the document, but still without having to open the entire document to view its contents. However, it should be understood that such an user interface  1200  is merely illustrative, and other means providing a user with interactions with visual elements in order to show corresponding content is within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The plurality of expanded bars  1280 ,  1285 ,  1290  is merely illustrative and not limited by this disclosure. As such, other means of allowing a user to visualize and navigate between portions of the text within the expanded detailed results section  1275  are contemplated and possible. For example, in some embodiments, one or more hashes appearing in clusters (similar to that as described above with respect to  FIGS. 9-11 ) may be used. In addition, the alternative user interface  1200  may convey other types of information to the user without requiring the user to navigate into the document, including volume of hits, proportion of hits, location of hits, and/or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the alternative user interface  1200  may be configurable by a user to only display results based on the closeness of the search terms with respect to each other, as depicted in  FIG. 17 . Such embodiments may ensure that documents having clusters of units close to one another within the document are displayed higher in the search results  1220  than documents having a spread out arrangement of units within the document. Alternatively, the documents having a spread out arrangement may be omitted entirely. In some embodiments, the user interface  1200  may allow a user to control the sensitivity of the clustering (e.g., indicating how “spread out” a cluster may be within the text of a document). In a nonlimiting example, a user may adjust the sensitivity of the clustering by indicating that 5 hits within 100 words of text is a minimum threshold for a cluster. In another nonlimiting example, a user may adjust the sensitivity of the clustering by indicating that 3 hits within a paragraph is a minimum threshold for a cluster. In some embodiments, adjusting the sensitivity may be completed by the user by accessing a proto variable controller popup window  1295  and adjusting a slider  1297 . For example, moving the slider  1297  to the left may “loosen” the threshold and show clusters that are more spread out within the text. Similarly, moving the slider  1297  to the right might “tighten” the threshold and show clusters of hits that are closer together. It should be understood that such a proto variable controller popup window  1295  is merely illustrative and other means of adjusting the sensitivity are contemplated and possible. 
     In some embodiments, the various user interfaces described herein may allow a user to determine an alternative sort order that is independent from a sort order automatically generated by any search engine algorithm, which may result in the discovery of a more customized and useful search ranking to the user that would not necessarily be predicted by a search algorithm. Thus, the customizability of the visualization to a particular user&#39;s needs allows for a checks-and-balances approach that is used in conjunction with a search engine and/or search algorithm. 
     It should be understood that the various user interfaces are merely illustrative. As such, any combination of the various features that are described with respect to  FIGS. 9-17 , as well as features not specifically described herein, are contemplated and possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     It should now be understood that the systems and methods described herein allow a user to submit a search query, and at substantially the same time as the search is conducted, the search terms are grouped into units and the number of units is reduced below a threshold (if necessary). Such a grouping includes determining which terms contain similarities to group into a unit for the purposes of displaying and presenting to the user. Such a reduction includes determining which units are the most likely to be useful by a user in determining documents to review. The grouping and reducing is generally completed in substantially the same amount of time as the search such that a user does not experience a delay in conducting a search. Once the search, the grouping, and the reducing are completed, a display is rendered to the user. The display allows the user to visualize hit patterns in the search results at both a document level and a collection level by embedding miniature charts to transcend the effectiveness of a traditional results list. As such, the user is able to more quickly and efficiently determine which documents from a results list are relevant and/or of interest without having to view the entirety of the document. 
     While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.