track overview in the TREC 2004 - High Accuracy Retrieval from Documents

The HARD track of TREC 2004 aims to improve the accuracy of information retrieval through the use of three techniques: (1) query metadata that better describes the information need, (2) focused and time-limited interaction with the searcher through “clarification forms”, and (3) incorporation of passage-level relevance judgments and retrieval. Participation in all three aspects of the track was excellent this year with about 10 groups trying something in each area. No group was able to achieve huge gains in effectiveness using these techniques, but some improvements were found and enthusiasm for the clarification forms (in particular) remains high. The track will run again in TREC 2005.