The inseparability problem in interactive case-based reasoning

In applications of interactive case-based reasoning (CBR) such as help-desk support and recommender systems, a problem that often affects retrieval performance is the inability, to distinguish between cases that have different solutions. For example, it is not unusual in recommender systems for two distinct products or services to have the same values for all attributes in the case library. While it is unlikely that both solutions are equally suited to the user's requirements. the system cannot help the user to choose between them. This problem, which we refer to as inseparability, can also arise as a result of incomplete data in the target problem presented for solution by a CBR system. We present an in-depth analysis of the inseparability problem, its relationship to the problem of incomplete data. and its impact on retrieval performance. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.