Method and Apparatus for Determining Search Result Demographics

Techniques are presented for producing demographics, in an automated fashion, from a search result of computer-accessible content. While the demographics can be determined for a research product that has been produced by any technique, they are particularly useful when applied to an automated frame-based search approach. Frame-based search engines are presented for technology profiling, healthcare-related search and brand research. Determination of a demographic proceeds at two levels: member and population. At the member level, a demographic characteristic can be determined applicable with either total or partial certainty. Each value assigned by a demographic, to a population member, has a confidence level associated with it and the assignments can be represented by a Confidence Distribution. Summarization of a demographic, at the population level, depends upon whether the certainty assignments, at the member level, are total or partial. Declarant Demographics are presented. Approaches, to determining Declarant Demographics, are presented.