CAREER: Eyes of the Foreseer - Integrative and In Situ Information Retrieval and Mining in Online Communities

随着在线社区的发展，Web已经从共享文档的网络演变为知识共享团体和个人的网络。正在产生大量异质但又相互关联的信息，现有的信息分析技术不足以处理这些信息。目前的工具往往忽视了信息的实际创造者和消费者，因此，研究结果只对数据分析师有用。以用户为中心的Foreseer是在线社区的下一代信息分析工具。它通过四个“C”代表了一种新的研究范式：内容（content）、语境（context）、人群（crowd）和云（cloud）。将内容的信息分析融入到用户的日常生活中，造福于驻留在云中的信息生成社区（人群）。该项目提供了对在线社区中产生的信息的综合和现场分析，这些信息属于人民、由人民、为人民。Foreseer的研究包括正式的社区模型、高效的数据分析工具、实际应用的先进解决方案和新颖的信息系统。将结果提供给日常网络用户，而不仅仅是数据分析人员，将会改善在线社区中思想的传播、公共意见的共享和明智的决策。新的基于网络的信息系统将形成可用于在线社会和卫生社区的原型。这项研究将加强目前的信息分析和检索课程，并导致信息科学和卫生信息学方面的一些新课程。研究结果也将在项目网站（http://www-personal.umich.edu/~qmei/foreseer/）上公布。

With the growth of online communities, the Web has evolved from networks of shared documents to networks of knowledge-sharing groups and individuals. A vast amount of heterogeneous yet interrelated information is being generated for which existing information analysis techniques are inadequate. Current tools often neglect the actual creators and consumers of information, and as a result, the findings are only useful to data analysts. The user-centric Foreseer is the next generation of information analysis for online communities. It represents a new paradigm of study through the four "C's": content, context, crowd, and cloud. Information analysis of content is put into the context of the users' daily lives to benefit the communities (crowd) that generate information residing in the cloud. This project provides integrative and in situ analysis of information generated in online communities that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Research of Foreseer consists of formal community models, efficient data analysis tools, advanced solutions of real applications, and novel information systems.Making the results available to everyday Web users, not just data analysts, will result in improved dissemination of ideas, shared public opinions, and wise decision-making in online communities. Novel Web-based information systems will form prototypes that can be used in online social and health communities. The research will enhance the current information analysis and retrieval curricula and lead to a number of new classes in information science and health informatics. Research results will also be published on the project Web site (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~qmei/foreseer/).