System and methods for search engine parameter tuning using genetic algorithm

A system for operating an electronic document search engine by setting respective weights of a plurality of search parameters in the search engine, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory, computer-readable memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
• determining a multi-dimensional search parameter space comprising a set of possible weight values for each of the plurality of search parameters;
• dividing the search parameter space into a grid of evenly-spaced values that is a subset of the set of possible values;
• defining one or more initial populations of search parameter weight values, wherein each population of search parameter weight values comprises a plurality of initial individuals, wherein each initial individual comprises a set of search parameter weight values, each set comprising a respective one of the evenly-spaced values for each of the search parameters;
• executing one or more genetic algorithms based on the one or more initial populations to select a final set of search parameter weight values, wherein executing one or more genetic algorithms based on the one or more initial populations comprises:
• executing an evolution step, the evolution step comprising creating a plurality of children individuals, each child individual comprising new values for each of the search parameter weights, each child individual based on a respective first parent individual and second parent individual, wherein the new value for each one of the search parameter weights is selected from a range of values between a value of the respective first parent individual for that weight and a value of the respective second parent individual for that weight, wherein each parent individual is a respective one of the initial individuals;
• and
• computing a fitness of each initial individual of the one or more initial populations based on historical selections by a plurality of users in response to previous searches, wherein computing a fitness of each initial individual comprises measuring how often the plurality of users selected one or more documents returned by the initial individual in each of a plurality of searches;
• and
• returning results of a user search in the search engine according to the final set of search parameter weight values.

A non-transitory, computer-readable memory storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computing system comprising the processor to perform operations comprising:

• determining a multi-dimensional search parameter space comprising a set of possible weight values for each of the plurality of search parameters;
• dividing the search parameter space into a grid of evenly-spaced values that is a subset of the set of possible values;
• defining one or more initial populations of search parameter weight values, wherein each population of search parameter weight values comprises a plurality of initial individuals, wherein each initial individual comprises a set of search parameter weight values, each set comprising a respective one of the evenly-spaced values for each of the search parameters;
• executing one or more genetic algorithms based on the one or more initial populations to select a final set of search parameter weight values, wherein executing one or more genetic algorithms based on the one or more initial populations comprises:
• executing an evolution step, the evolution step comprising creating a plurality of children individuals, each child individual comprising new values for each of the search parameter weights, each child individual based on a respective first parent individual and second parent individual, wherein the new value for each one of the search parameter weights is selected from a range of values between a value of the respective first parent individual for that weight and a value of the respective second parent individual for that weight, wherein each parent individual is a respective one of the initial individuals;
• and
• computing a fitness of each initial individual of the one or more initial populations based on historical selections by a plurality of users in response to previous searches, wherein computing a fitness of each initial individual comprises measuring how often the plurality of users selected one or more documents returned by the initial individual in each of a plurality of searches;
• and
• returning results of a user search in the search engine according to the final set of search parameter weight values.