Evaluation of Multimedia Retrieval Systems

by Djoerd Hiemstra and Wessel Kraaij

In this chapter, we provide the tools and methodology for comparing the effectiveness of two or more multimedia retrieval systems in a meaningful way. Several aspects of multimedia retrieval systems can be evaluated without consulting the potential users or customers of the system, such as the query processing time (measured for instance in milliseconds per query) or the query throughput (measured for instance as the number of queries per second). In this chapter, however, we will focus on aspects of the system that influence the effectiveness of the retrieved results. In order to measure the effectiveness of search results, one must at some point consult the potential user of the system. For, what are the correct results for the query “black jaguar”? Cars, or cats? Ultimately, the user has to decide.

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