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The Evolution of Cranfield

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Information Retrieval Evaluation in a Changing World

Part of the book series: The Information Retrieval Series ((INRE,volume 41))

Abstract

Evaluating search system effectiveness is a foundational hallmark of information retrieval research. Doing so requires infrastructure appropriate for the task at hand, which generally follows the Cranfield paradigm: test collections and associated evaluation measures. A primary purpose of Information Retrieval (IR) evaluation campaigns such as Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) and Conference and Labs of the Evaluation Forum (CLEF) is to build this infrastructure. The first TREC collections targeted the same task as the original Cranfield tests and used measures that were familiar to test collection users of the time. But as evaluation tasks have multiplied and diversified, test collection construction techniques and evaluation measure definitions have also been forced to evolve. This chapter examines how the Cranfield paradigm has been adapted to meet the changing requirements for search systems enabling it to continue to support a vibrant research community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Ellen M. Voorhees

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  1. Ellen M. Voorhees
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Correspondence to Ellen M. Voorhees .

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  1. Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università degli Studi di Padova , Padova, Italy

    Nicola Ferro

  2. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell’Informazione, Pisa, Italy

    Carol Peters

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Voorhees, E.M. (2019). The Evolution of Cranfield. In: Ferro, N., Peters, C. (eds) Information Retrieval Evaluation in a Changing World. The Information Retrieval Series, vol 41. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22948-1_2

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