Filtering medical documents using automated and human classification methods

The goal of this research is to clarify the role of document classification in information filtering. An important function of classification, in managing computational complexity, is described and illustrated in the context of an existing filtering system. A parameter called classification homogeneity is presented for analyzing unsupervised automated classification by employing human classification as a control. Two significant components of the automated classification approach, vocabulary discovery and classification scheme generation, are described in detail. Results of classification performance revealed considerable variability in the homogeneity of automatically produced classes. Based on the classification performance, different types of interest profiles were created. Subsequently, these profiles were used to perform filtering sessions. The filtering results showed that with increasing homogeneity, filtering performance improves, and, conversely, with decreasing homogeneity, filtering performance degrades.