Book Review: Web Data Mining: Exploring Hyperlinks, Contents, and Usage Data

Abstract

Not so long ago only a small proportion of the information generated by organizations – that stored in structured data sources like databases and spreadsheets – was accessible for systematic computer-based search, classification and analysis. The techniques and algorithms of data mining were developed to extract useful patterns and knowledge from these structured sources. Today, the explosive growth of the World-Wide-Web, and a parallel development of private intranets, means that a much greater amount of information is potentially available for search and analysis, in a wider variety of formats and encompassing structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, from organized tables to multi-media clips. The established techniques of data mining have proved insufficient for this task.