Dataset Creation Framework for Personalized Type-Based Facet Ranking Tasks Evaluation

Abstract

Faceted Search Systems (FSS) have gained prominence in many existing vertical search systems. They provide facets to assist users in allocating their desired search target quickly. In this paper, we present a framework to generate datasets appropriate for simulation-based evaluation of these systems. We focus on the task of personalized type-based facet ranking. Type-based facets (t-facets) represent the categories of the resources being searched in the FSS. They are usually organized in a large multilevel taxonomy. Personalized t-facet ranking methods aim at identifying and ranking the parts of the taxonomy which reflects query relevance as well as user interests. While evaluation protocols have been developed for facet ranking, the problem of personalising the facet rank based on user profiles has lagged behind due to the lack of appropriate datasets. To fill this gap, this paper introduces a framework to reuse and customise existing real-life data collections. The framework outlines the eligibility criteria and the data structure requirements needed for this task. It also details the process to transform the data into a ground-truth dataset. We apply this framework to two existing data collections in the domain of Point-of-Interest (POI) suggestion. The generated datasets are analysed with respect to the taxonomy richness (variety of types) and user profile diversity and length. In order to experiment with the generated datasets, we combine this framework with a widely adopted simulated user-facet interaction model to evaluate a number of existing personalized t-facet ranking baselines.