Clear and precise queries are a necessity when searching very large document collections, especially when query-based retrieval is the only means of exploration. We propose system-mediated information access as a solution for users ’ well-documented inability to formulate good queries. Our approach is based on two main assumptions: first, on the ability of document clustering to reveal the topical, semantic structure of a problem domain represented by a specialized “source collection,” and, second, on the capacity of statistical language models to convey content. Taking the role of the human mediator or intermediary searcher, a mediation system interacts with the user and supports her exploration of a relatively small source collection, chosen to be representative for the problem domain. Based on the

This paper introduces a new interface that integrates document mining. A key point is the co-operation of different modules with which the user interacts in order to visualise in a global way a document set. This visualisation is done according to different point of views, given by the different document dimensions. The graphical visualisations are animated and 4-Dimensional. The general mining process follows the framework of a Knowledge Discovery in Databases process. We present the several phases implied by document mining and show how this technique can be used based on a document set.

This paper reports the design and development of the Diceman Query Application. This is the end-user query application for a video indexing and retrieval project based on the Diceman architecture for distributed internet content exchange using MPEG-7 and agent negotiation. The query application was developed to support different search strategies of users accessing large video archives that have been indexed with a complex indexing language. The paper describes the interface, its design, the strategies supported, and initial results from user tests of building complex queries using the query interface (including a discussion of end-users ability to formulate meaningful semantic queries using low-level indexing features). Finally the paper discusses the implications of the interface on the underlying search engine.