Developing a complex query to build a specialised corpus: Reducing the issue of polysemous query terms.

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss an approach to formulating a complex query for a topic-specific corpus. Specifically, I outline how a dual query-term-group model can be used to counter the issue of polysemy of query terms when compiling a corpus from a database. I also show how the Relative Query Term Relevance statistical measure (Gabrielatos 2007) can be adapted to this model to aid in the final selection of candidate query terms.

This approach was employed in formulating the query used to compile the corpus for my PhD project 'Constructing the Lone Wolf Terrorist: A corpus-driven study of the British press'.

This paper was presented at the Corpora and Discourse International Conference 2020 (https://corporadiscourse.com/).

Full text

Developing a complex query
to build a specialised corpus:
Reducing the issue of
polysemous query terms



Aim
 dual query-term
groups 


 Query Term
Relevance !"#$
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
2

Outline
&'(
&(%!
&)*!"
&!%+
&)'"
&!"# #!"#$

&!"#!%
+
&#,
3

Case study
Task-
.*/
0'12
"-%
.3444%456
Aims of the project-
 
,
 7%,
.

4

Developing a
Specialised-
corpus Query
Specialised corpora
&"7838
7 449$
Precision
&1:-
;<, <$
;=:
Recall
&:
%

Text Relevance = Query Relevance
+:44>$
5

Developing a
Specialised-
corpus Query The Query
?:
73
33
:@ +:44>-9$
Working De#nition
&?":single3
ideologically motivated perpetrator
,A,
3,acts without any direct
support 3
7terrorist<3,
:
@ .<<B#4C$
6

Issue of
Polysemous
Query Terms
Dictionary De#nition
&Lone wolf&n. D DU.S.$D
gurative3(a),7
,3<
ED(b),
EDattributive ,
$Dv.Dintransitive33
,<333 =
=45$
&Lone wolf3

7

Issue of
Polysemous
Query Terms
Problem
*
7
%
Example Domain: Sport
&"-Lone wolf 
:.<
&.-2"Lone WolfF#
<F<
&FLone wolfFG:
.*::

&HIF(LONE WOLF ."2
(=1I")I*'H(
8

Dual Query-
term Groups
Solution to Polysemy Issue
&3
:.=#
; lone wolf =#lone actor =#J$
&%
9
Group A
lone wolf 
lone wolf =# lone actor =#…)
I
Group B
terror* 
terrorism=#extremism =#J$

Identifying
Candidate
Terms
1. Academic Literature
2. Pilot study
&*!:
&(-lone-wolf I
terror*.
&I,K(33
+3
&"4LK4> <
$
&LM34L4M<
10

Identifying
Candidate
Terms Keyness Analysis of Pilot Corpus
&(<3""C

&7C44<,44
%,
;1,3/3373
/3)3<3::3
N3<3::3
333N3
3,3
)3<333%,
3<33
33:33
7)3%)3
)
Concordance Check
&7:<%8
lone.
;(33
11

Identifying
Candidate
Terms Binomials
&(,,
<

&8<
7
12
Modi#ers Nouns
  < %O
 < < 
 ::  
% 7  ::
%  P OO
 8  <OO
  OO
 
 

Query Term
Relevance
(QTR) Measure
What?
&(
&'<
7:
7
&.

Purpose?
&

:

+:44$
13

Query Term
Relevance
(QTR) Measure Formula
&!"#-4K
;4Q%
,
 '!"$7
;Q,%
,

+:44>$
14
!"#

!"#


QTR Baseline
Baseline for Dual Query-term
Groups
&?!"#

-:
 .$@ +:444$
&(:
:'!"
15
Group A Baseline
lone wolfI
terror*$
"
lone-wolf$
!"#
2732 MC9 494C
Group B Baseline
terror* Ilone
wolf$
"
terror*$
!"#
2732 9C 444M

Relative Query
Term Relevance
(RQTR) Candidate Terms
&'6!"#
::
&Positive:

+:44>$
16
CT Group A CT(A) &
CQ(B)
T QTR RQTR RQTRn
lone actor 299 311 0.961 58.922 90.233
lone offender 5 15 0.333 -44.900 -44.900
lone radical 0 2 0 -100 -100

Relative Query
Term Relevance
(RQTR) &#!"#
17
RQT
R
Interpretation
R44 G-always co-occurs 
7,

4.-equal
relevance 6
%44 I-never co-occurs 
7

CT CQ & CT T QTR RQTR RQTRn
lone actor 299 311 0.961 58.922 90.233
lone offender 5 15 0.333 -44.900 -44.900
lone radical 0 2 0 -100 -100
&#!"#
;<
78

Review
dual query-groups -
&#
,
:
&
Query Term Relevance :
%


Final Query:
&ML+ ,$
&>+. $
18

Contact
&S<
&",-STT
&*/#+-
-:<5
&%
 ='($::
444U
-<::
19

References
&.<<33B#3VWN 4C$1%"-8
2<DCountering Lone-Actor Terrorism Series
&3 449$'.-%
<:
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