Midhad Blazevic defended his Master Thesis on Visual Search and Exploration for Scientific Publications through Similarity

In his thesis, Midhad Blazevic alyzes exploratory search systems which use sophisticated features, visualizations and similarity-based algorithms to enhance exploratory searches. Examining how similarity algorithms are currently used in combination with elements from information retrieval, natural language processing and visualizations, but also examine what exploratory search is, what the requirements are and what makes it so special in modern times. Furthermore, the user himself or herself will be analyzed as user behavior during exploratory searches is a key factor that has to be taken into consideration when looking to optimize the exploratory search process overall. Based on these aspects, means of improvement will be developed and showcased, which will be used to determine if there is an improvement in comparison to other well-known systems. The outcome of this thesis will present a prototype of an exploratory search system along with a practical use case.