Electronic device and method for searching related terms

Abstract

A method for searching related terms first calculates a direct relationship between every two of a plurality of query terms to obtain a direct related matrix, and calculates a related score between every two of the query terms to obtain a related score matrix. The method further calculates an indirect relationship between every two of the query terms according to the direct relationship and the related score, and determines indirect terms of each query term according to the indirect relationship between every two of the query terms.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for calculating indirect relationships between a plurality of query terms using an electronic device, the method comprising:
 obtaining the plurality of query terms from a storage device of the electronic device;   calculating a direct relationship “R i, j ” between every two of the query terms;   calculating a related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms; and   calculating an indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” between every two of the query terms according to the direct relationship “R i, j ” and the related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining indirect terms of each query term according to the indirect relationship between every two of the query terms, and storing the determined indirect terms in the storage device of the electronic device.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 obtaining search results from a data source by performing a search operation according to the determined indirect terms, and displaying the search results on a display device of the electronic device.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms is obtained by calculating a conditional probability between every two of the query terms. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” between every two of the query terms is calculated by a formula R′ i, j =Σ K=1   n R i,k *P k,j ,k≠i,j, wherein the variable “n” represents a total number of the query terms. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein a direct related matrix “R” is generated according to the direct relationships “R i, j ”, a related score matrix “P” is generated according to the related scores “P i, j ”, and the indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” is calculated using the direct related matrix “R” and the related score matrix “P” according to the formula. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the determining step comprises: determining that a first term of the query term is the indirect term of a second term of the query terms upon the condition that the indirect relationship between the first term and the second term is greater than or equal to a preset value. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the preset value is 1.0. 
     
     
         9 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a processor;   a storage device storing a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:   obtain a plurality of query terms from the storage device;   calculate a direct relationship “R i, j ” between every two of the query terms;   calculate a related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms; and   calculate an indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” between every two of the query terms according to the direct relationship “R i, j ” and the related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms.   
     
     
         10 . The electronic device according to  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise:
 determining indirect terms of each query term according to the indirect relationship between every two of the query terms, and store the determined indirect terms in the storage device.   
     
     
         11 . The electronic device according to  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise:
 obtaining search results from a data source by performing a search operation according to the determined indirect terms, and displaying the search results on a display device of the electronic device.   
     
     
         12 . The electronic device according to  claim 10 , wherein the related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms is obtained by calculating a conditional probability between every two of the query terms. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic device according to  claim 10 , wherein the indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” between every two of the query terms is calculated by a formula R′ i,j =Σ K=1   n R i,k *P k,j ,k≠i,j, wherein the variable “n” represents a number of the query terms. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic device according to  claim 10 , wherein the instruction of determining indirect terms of each query term according to the indirect relationship between every two of the query terms comprises: determining that a first term of the query term is the indirect term of a second term of the query terms upon the condition that the indirect relationship between the first term and the second term is greater than or equal to a preset value. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor to perform a method for calculating indirect relationships between a plurality of query terms, the method comprising:
 obtaining the plurality of query terms from a storage device of the electronic device;   calculating a direct relationship “R i, j ” between every two of the query terms;   calculating a related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms; and   calculating an indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” between every two of the query terms according to the direct relationship “R i, j ” and the related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory storage medium according to  claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises:
 determining indirect terms of each query term according to the indirect relationship between every two of the query terms, and storing the determined indirect terms in the storage device of the electronic device.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory storage medium according to  claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises:
 obtaining search results from a data source by performing a search operation according to the determined indirect terms, and displaying the search results on a display device of the electronic device.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory storage medium according to  claim 16 , wherein the related score “P i, j ” between every two of the query terms is obtained by calculating a conditional probability between every two of the query terms. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory storage medium according to  claim 16 , wherein the indirect relationship “R′ i, j ” between every two of the query terms is calculated by a formula R′ i,j =Σ K=1   n R i,k *P k,j ,k≠i,j, wherein the variable “n” represents a total number of the query terms. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory storage medium according to  claim 16 , wherein the determining step comprises: determining that a first term of the query term is the indirect term of a second term of the query terms upon the condition that the indirect relationship between the first term and the second term is greater than or equal to a preset value.