Configurable Meta-search in the Human Resource Domain: A Hybrid Approach to Schema and Data Integration for Meta-search Engines

The volume and heterogeneity of information available online via Web sites or databases makes it difficult to find relevant information. Search engines, subject directories and social network search engines are insufficient to meet the requirements of users. Traditional search tools do not provide comprehensive coverage of the Web and suffer from low recall and precision, because the meaning of searched artifacts is unknown to them. To overcome these problems, we propose a new configurable meta-search engine. We apply automatic schema/data matching and integration for meta-search engines to resolve the semantic heterogeneity between multiple information sources. The meta-search engine uses a domain ontology and multiple matchers that help to understand the search results too. Flexible and re-useable design patterns have also been introduced for the meta-search engine. The techniques have been verified in a prototype for the human resource domain, i.e. for a job search. The book is useful to professionals or companies involved in the integration of search-engines, ontologies and databases.