DVDSleuth: A Case Study in Applied Formal Concept Analysis for Navigating Web Catalogs

Browsing images using Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) for conceptual representation, navigation and clustering was shown in the ImageSleuth projects [1,2,3]. To showcase the ideas and knowledge gained through ImageSleuth, the same techniques were applied to an information space built from a dynamic collection sourced from the Amazon.com on-line store. Using the Amazon.com catalog, conceptually similar DVDs are able to be discovered and viewed, and then used to explore the information space of their conceptual neighbourhood. A case study of the project --- called DVDSleuth --- is presented in this paper focusing on the history, results and difficulties encountered by the project. The shortcomings of our approach are analysed and reported as a guide for future projects using FCA techniques for information exploration using on-line Web catalogs.