Controlling overlap in content-oriented XML retrieval

The direct application of standard ranking techniques to retrieve individual elements from a collection of XML documents often produces a result set in which the top ranks are dominated by a large number of elements taken from a small number of highly relevant documents. This paper presents and evaluates an algorithm that re-ranks this result set, with the aim of minimizing redundant content while preserving the benefits of element retrieval, including the benefit of identifying topic-focused components contained within relevant documents. The test collection developed by the INitiative for the Evaluation of XML Retrieval (INEX) forms the basis for the evaluation.