Introduction to Information Retrieval
Foundational IR textbook that includes content on vector‑space models and retrieval, providing essential background for understanding vector search and hybrid retrieval in modern vector databases.
About this tool
Introduction to Information Retrieval
Type: Textbook & online learning resources
Category: Curated Resource Lists
Publisher / Brand: Cambridge University Press
Authors: Christopher D. Manning, Prabhakar Raghavan, Hinrich Schütze
Primary URL: https://nlp.stanford.edu/IR-book/information-retrieval-book.html
Description
Foundational computer-science–oriented textbook on information retrieval. It covers core IR concepts such as Boolean search, indexing, term vocabularies, vector-space models, and evaluation—providing essential theory and practice for understanding modern search systems, including vector and hybrid retrieval.
Features
Core Focus
- Modern, computer science–based introduction to information retrieval
- Aligned with university-level IR courses (e.g., Stanford CS276, University of Stuttgart, University of Munich)
- Suitable as a primary textbook or self-study reference
Content Coverage (Selected Table of Contents)
- Front matter
- Includes table of notations and preliminary material (PDF available)
- Chapter 1: Boolean retrieval
- Foundations of Boolean query models and exact-match retrieval
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 2: The term vocabulary & postings lists
- Term vocabularies, document representations, postings lists
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 3: Dictionaries and tolerant retrieval
- Dictionary structures, spelling correction, fuzzy/tolerant retrieval
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 4: Index construction
- Algorithms and data structures for building search indexes
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 5: Index compression
- Compression techniques for efficient storage and retrieval
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 6: Scoring, term weighting & the vector space model
- Ranking, term weighting (e.g., tf-idf), vector-space modeling of documents and queries
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 7: Computing scores in a complete search system
- Practical scoring in end-to-end search architectures
- Available as PDF and HTML
- Chapter 8: Evaluation in information retrieval
- Principles and metrics for evaluating IR systems (PDF linked; HTML partially visible in source)
(Additional chapters exist in the full book; only the ones visible in the provided content are listed here.)
Online Editions & Formats
- HTML edition of the full book
- Web-based reading version mirroring print content (minor copy-edit/figure differences)
- PDF for online viewing
- Hyperlinked PDF suitable for on-screen reading
- PDF for printing
- Print-optimized PDF version
- PDFs of individual chapters
- Chapter-by-chapter downloads for modular use
Supplementary Teaching Materials
- Stanford University slides and assignments
- Course materials aligned with the textbook (CS276)
- University of Munich slides and assignments
- Additional lecture and assignment resources
- European Summer School on Information Retrieval (ESSIR) 2011 materials
- Linked resources related to the 8th ESSIR
Reference & Support Resources
- Errata
- Online list of known errors and corrections
- Information retrieval resources list
- Curated external IR resources linked from the site
- Contact for feedback
- Email address provided for corrections and comments on coverage and clarity
Access & Availability
- Print edition available from Cambridge University Press, bookstores, and major online retailers (via ISBN 0521865719)
- Online editions freely accessible from the companion website
Pricing
The provided content does not specify pricing details or plans. The print book is sold through Cambridge University Press and other book retailers at standard book pricing (check publisher or retailer sites for current price). The listed online materials (HTML edition, PDFs, slides, assignments, errata, and resource lists) are accessible directly from the companion website without stated cost in the provided content.
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