Background There are substantial benefits to be gained from ranking optimization in several information retrieval and recommendation systems. However, the analysis of ranking evaluation functions (REFs), which play a major role in many ranking optimization models, needs to be further investigated. An analysis of previous studies that investigated REFs was performed, and evidence was found which indicated that the choice of a proper REF is context sensitive. Methods In this study, we analyze a broad set of REFs for feature weighting aimed at increasing the image retrieval effectiveness. The REFs analyzed sums ten and includes the most successful and representative REFs from the literature. The REFs were embedded into a genetic algorithm (GA)-based relevance feedback (RF) model, called WLSP-C ±, aimed at improving image retrieval results through the use of learning weights for image descriptors and image regions. Results Analyses of precision-recall curves in five real-world image data sets showed that one non-parameterized REF named F5, not analyzed in previous studies, overcame recommended ones, which require parameter adjustment. We also provided a computational analysis of the GA-based RF model investigated, and it was shown that it is linear in regard to the image data set cardinality. Conclusions We conclude that REF F5 should be investigated in other contexts and problem scenarios centered on ranking optimization, as ranking optimization techniques rely heavily on the ranking quality measure.
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