Publication
Title
The tipping point : F-score as a function of the number of retrieved items
Author
Abstract
One of the best known measures of information retrieval (IR) performance is the F-score, the harmonic mean of precision and recall. In this article we show that the curve of the F-score as a function of the number of retrieved items is always of the same shape: a fast concave increase to a maximum, followed by a slow decrease. In other words, there exists a single maximum, referred to as the tipping point, where the retrieval situation is 'ideal' in terms of the F-score. The tipping point thus indicates the optimal number of items to be retrieved, with more or less items resulting in a lower F-score. This empirical result is found in IR and link prediction experiments and can be partially explained theoretically, expanding on earlier results by Egghe. We discuss the implications and argue that, when comparing F-scores, one should compare the F-score curves' tipping points. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Information processing and management. - Oxford
Publication
Oxford : 2012
ISSN
0306-4573
DOI
10.1016/J.IPM.2012.02.009
Volume/pages
48 :6 (2012) , p. 1171-1180
ISI
000309794000011
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 06.12.2012
Last edited 09.10.2023
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