Diversity evaluation in genealogy search

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

• accessing a set of genealogical records that correspond to a rank order;
• determining an entropy value associated with each ranked position in the set of genealogical records, the entropy value associated with each ranked position corresponding to a distribution of a subset of genealogical records that are selected based on the ranked position, wherein at least a first distribution that corresponds to a first ranked position includes a first subset of genealogical records and a second distribution that corresponds to a second ranked position includes the first subset and at least an additional lower-ranked genealogical record;
• determining an entropy-based metric based on the entropy values of the ranked positions in the set of genealogical records, wherein determining the entropy-based metric comprises:
• adding the entropy values of the ranked positions in the set of genealogical records to determine a sum of the entropy values associated with the ranked positions;
• determining a cumulative entropy that corresponds to the sum of the entropy values associated with the ranked positions, the cumulative entropy being the entropy-based metric, wherein, for the cumulative entropy, the genealogical records in the first subset are weighted heavier than the additional lower-ranked genealogical record;
• responsive to the entropy-based metric being lower than a threshold of a predetermined value of cumulative entropy, re-determining the rank order;
• and
• responsive to the entropy-based metric being greater than the threshold of the predetermined value of cumulative entropy, generating an indication of a degree of diversity of the set of genealogical records.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store program code, the program code comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• access a set of genealogical records based on a, search query, each genealogical record comprising one or more attributes;
• rank the set of genealogical records in a rank order;
• classify the genealogical records into a plurality of record types based on the one or more attributes of the genealogical records;
• select, based on the rank order, a plurality of subsets from the set of genealogical records, each subset different from another subset, wherein the plurality of subsets comprise a first subset of genealogical records and a second subset that includes the first subset and at least an additional lower-ranked genealogical record that is ranked lower than any genealogical record in the first subset;
• determine a plurality of distributions of numbers of genealogical records that are classified into each of the plurality of record types, each of the plurality of distributions corresponding to one of the plurality of subsets;
• determine an entropy-based metric corresponding to the set of genealogical records, wherein the entropy-based metric represents a degree of diversity of the set of genealogical records in the rank order, wherein determine the entropy-based metric comprises:
• determine a plurality of entropy values of the plurality of subsets, each subset having an entropy value that is determined based on the distribution corresponding to the subset, wherein at least a first distribution corresponds to the genealogical records in the first subset and a second distribution corresponds to the genealogical ords in the second subset that includes the first subset and at least the additional lower-ranked genealogical record:
• add the plurality of entropy values together to determines a sum of the entropy values of the plurality of subsets;
• determine a cumulative entropy that corresponds to the sum of the entropy values of the plurality of subsets, the cumulative entropy being the entropy-based metric, wherein, for the cumulative entropy, the genealogical records in the first subset are weighted heavier than the additional lower-ranked genealogical record;
• and
• generate an indication of the degree of diversity of the set of genealogical records.