In recent years there has been an increasing research interest
in the problem of contextualizing search to the aim of
overcoming the limitations of the “one size fits all” paradigm,
which is generally applied by Search Engines and Information
Retrieval Systems (IRSs). By this paradigm the keyword-based
query is considered as the only carrier of the users’ information
needs. As a consequence, the relevance estimate is
system-centered, as the user context is not taken into account.
Instead, a contextual Search Engine or IRS relies on a
user-centered approach since it involves processes, techniques
and algorithms that exploit as much contextual factors as
possible in order to tailor the search results to users