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Chapter 15
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-044-6.ch015
INTRODUCTION
In their attempt to purchase a new product, con-
sumers often seek to obtain as many information
as possible about it, that is capable of resolving
all doubts and make sure they are doing a good
purchase. Another justification for the acquisition
of this information is using them to compare a
product with similar products or the same category,
choosing one that offers the best cost versus ben-
efit. For instance, when a user has no knowledge
or experience about a particular product, he or
Flavius L. Gorgônio
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
José P. Araújo Neto
University of Brasília, Brazil
Taciano M. Silva
Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
A Framework for Designing
Recommender System
for Consumers Using
Distributed Data Clustering
ABSTRACT
In the past, consumers looked for information about quality of products and services with family members,
friends, vendors, and experts. Currently, this reality is changing, and the number of consumers using
Internet to fnd this kind of information is increasing, but not only to obtain additional information about
a specifc product, but to compare its features with other similar products. However, Internet provides
a considerable amount of information through high volume of commercial sites, making the search for
really useful information costly and diffcult. Recommender systems are a Web social based process,
performed by ordinary people, where users want to describe their degree of appreciation about items
(products, services or people) based on their personal experience. This chapter proposes a framework for
designing Web recommender systems that combine a meta-search engine and a data clustering strategy
for product evaluation, enabling consumers to decide which products should be chosen.