Handbook

Information retrieval (IR) is the process of retrieving relevant information by specifying a query to an IR system. Web search is one form of an IR system that allows users to search information on the Internet based on a search engine. It involves computing a numeric score on how well each result matches the query and ranking the results according to this score.

This course aims to introduce the concepts, theories, and algorithmic issues important to Information Retrieval. If time allows, the course will also cover some recent topics and common practices. The course is composed of the following parts:

Information Retrieval:

1. Document modeling
2. Inverted index construction and compression
3. Vector space model and ranking methods
4. Probabilistic and language models
5. Evaluation methods
6. Relevance feedback and query expansion.

Web Search:

1. Web search engine architecture
2. Web crawling and indexing
3. Web structure and usage analytics.

The lecture materials will be complemented by a non-programming assignment and a programming project.