Terms related to natural language processing · 3.6.4
information retrieval
a task that finds relevant documents or parts of them in a dataset, usually from keyword or natural language queries
What this term settles
The definition fixes what information retrieval means inside this vocabulary and, just as usefully, where the boundary sits. A reader who means something wider or narrower is using a different term and should say so.
Who it binds
Nothing here creates an obligation by itself. The obligation arrives when the firm writes information retrieval into a control, a specification or a purchase order.
What to do in your practice
Use the entry as a test in the next review. Ask the owner to point at the artefact that shows information retrieval in this sense, then record the answer with a date.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for information retrieval with the citation 3.6.4, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that the term is controlled rather than assumed.
- A product description that names the language task and the input and output it handles.Shows information retrieval in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- An evaluation set with the language, the domain and the scoring rule.The product description mixes the task with the model, so a change of model reads as a change of task.
Common gaps this page catches
- information retrieval is used in the language task in the product description without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The vocabulary is reviewed when someone remembers, not on a cadence, so entries drift from the artefacts they describe.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Take the next policy revision and replace the loose use of information retrieval with the entry and its citation. Record the change in the vocabulary change log.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where information retrieval is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states information retrieval at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does information retrieval mean in ISO 22989?
- a task that finds relevant documents or parts of them in a dataset, usually from keyword or natural language queries
- What evidence should we keep for 3.6.4?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for information retrieval with the citation 3.6.4, an owner and a review date. A product description that names the language task and the input and output it handles.
- Is information retrieval a requirement?
- No: information retrieval is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.6.4, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary