Patent Document ID: 7836051
Application ID: 10684313
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A computer-implemented method of analyzing browse activity data of users of a database access system, the method comprising: providing a browse tree in which items represented within a database are arranged within item categories over multiple levels of item categories; assigning individual user history scores to specific categories of the browse tree based at least in-part on an item selection history of a user, wherein the individual user history scores represent the user's predicted affinities for the corresponding item categories; assigning collective user history scores to specific categories of the browse tree based at least in-part on item selection histories of a population of users, wherein the collective user history scores represent the predicted affinities of the user population for the corresponding item categories; and evaluating differences between the individual user history scores and the collective user history scores to generate a relative preference profile for the user, wherein the relative preference profile comprises relative preference scores for specific item categories, said relative preference scores reflecting a degree to which the user's predicted affinity for a category differs from the predicted affinity of the user population for that category.