Query Formulation as an Information Retrieval Problem

Query formulation in the context of large conceptual schemata is known to be a hard problem. When formulating ad-hoc queries users may become overwhelmed by the vast amount of information that is stored in the information system; leading to a feeling of lost in conceptual space. In this article we develop a strategy to cope with this problem. This strategy is based on ideas from the information retrieval world. In particular the query by navigation mechanism and the stratified hypermedia architecture. The stratified hypermedia architecture is used to describe the information contained in the information system on multiple levels of abstraction. When using our approach to the formulation of queries, a user will first formulate a number of simple queries corresponding to linear paths through the information structure. The formulation of the linear paths is the result of the explorative phase of query formulation. Once users have specified a number of these linear paths, they may combine them to form more complex queries. This last process is referred to as query by construction, and corresponds to the constructive phase of the query formulation process.