Condorcet query engine: A query engine for coordinated index terms

On-line information retrieval systems often offer their users some means to tune the query to match the level of granularity of the information request. Users can be offered a far greater range of possibilities, however, if documents are indexed with coordinated index concepts. Coordinated index concepts are compound index concepts that express a relation between concepts that function as simple subject descriptors, as in cures(headache, aspirin). We show the point by giving a functional specification of a query engine that can handle both simple and coordinated index concepts, Boolean combinations, and superconcept expansion. The Condorcet Query Engine, a prototype query engine that can be run over the World Wide Web (WWW), demonstrates the feasibility of these ideas. The combination of known and novel techniques ensures a smooth migration path from existing query engines to more advanced engines that handle coordinated index concepts.