Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources

Recommender systems are challenged with providing accurate recommendations that meet the diverse preferences of users. The main information sources for these systems are the utility matrix and textual sources, such as item descriptions, users’ reviews, and users’ profiles. Incorporating diverse sour...

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Main Authors: Thi-Linh Ho, Anh-Cuong Le, Dinh-Hong Vu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/10/6324
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author Thi-Linh Ho
Anh-Cuong Le
Dinh-Hong Vu
author_facet Thi-Linh Ho
Anh-Cuong Le
Dinh-Hong Vu
author_sort Thi-Linh Ho
collection DOAJ
description Recommender systems are challenged with providing accurate recommendations that meet the diverse preferences of users. The main information sources for these systems are the utility matrix and textual sources, such as item descriptions, users’ reviews, and users’ profiles. Incorporating diverse sources of information is a reasonable approach to improving recommendation accuracy. However, most studies primarily use the utility matrix, and when they use textual sources they do not integrate them with the utility matrix. This is due to the risk of combined information causing noise and reducing the effectiveness of good sources. To overcome this challenge, in this study we propose a novel method that utilizes the Transformer Model, a deep learning model that efficiently integrates textual and utility matrix information. The study suggests feature extraction techniques suitable for each information source and an effective integration method in the Transformer model. The experimental results indicate that the proposed model significantly improves recommendation accuracy compared to the baseline model (MLP) for the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) metric, with a reduction range of 10.79% to 31.03% for the Amazon sub-datasets. Furthermore, when compared to SVD, which is known as one of the most efficient models for recommender systems, the proposed model shows a decrease in the MAE metric by a range of 34.82% to 56.17% for the Amazon sub-datasets. Our proposed model also outperforms the graph-based model with an increase of up to 108% in Precision, a decrease of up to 65.37% in MAE, and a decrease of up to 59.24% in RMSE. Additionally, experimental results on the Movielens and Amazon datasets also demonstrate that our proposed model, which combines information from the utility matrix and textual sources, yields better results compared to using only information from the utility matrix.
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spelling doaj.art-d0537cbd9b704e3fb626f453611c0c372023-11-18T00:23:58ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-05-011310632410.3390/app13106324Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual SourcesThi-Linh Ho0Anh-Cuong Le1Dinh-Hong Vu2Natural Language Processing and Knowledge Discovery Laboratory, Faculty of Information Technology, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, VietnamNatural Language Processing and Knowledge Discovery Laboratory, Faculty of Information Technology, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, VietnamNatural Language Processing and Knowledge Discovery Laboratory, Faculty of Information Technology, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, VietnamRecommender systems are challenged with providing accurate recommendations that meet the diverse preferences of users. The main information sources for these systems are the utility matrix and textual sources, such as item descriptions, users’ reviews, and users’ profiles. Incorporating diverse sources of information is a reasonable approach to improving recommendation accuracy. However, most studies primarily use the utility matrix, and when they use textual sources they do not integrate them with the utility matrix. This is due to the risk of combined information causing noise and reducing the effectiveness of good sources. To overcome this challenge, in this study we propose a novel method that utilizes the Transformer Model, a deep learning model that efficiently integrates textual and utility matrix information. The study suggests feature extraction techniques suitable for each information source and an effective integration method in the Transformer model. The experimental results indicate that the proposed model significantly improves recommendation accuracy compared to the baseline model (MLP) for the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) metric, with a reduction range of 10.79% to 31.03% for the Amazon sub-datasets. Furthermore, when compared to SVD, which is known as one of the most efficient models for recommender systems, the proposed model shows a decrease in the MAE metric by a range of 34.82% to 56.17% for the Amazon sub-datasets. Our proposed model also outperforms the graph-based model with an increase of up to 108% in Precision, a decrease of up to 65.37% in MAE, and a decrease of up to 59.24% in RMSE. Additionally, experimental results on the Movielens and Amazon datasets also demonstrate that our proposed model, which combines information from the utility matrix and textual sources, yields better results compared to using only information from the utility matrix.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/10/6324recommender systemdeep neural network recommender systemmultiviewtransformer model
spellingShingle Thi-Linh Ho
Anh-Cuong Le
Dinh-Hong Vu
Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources
Applied Sciences
recommender system
deep neural network recommender system
multiview
transformer model
title Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources
title_full Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources
title_fullStr Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources
title_full_unstemmed Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources
title_short Multiview Fusion Using Transformer Model for Recommender Systems: Integrating the Utility Matrix and Textual Sources
title_sort multiview fusion using transformer model for recommender systems integrating the utility matrix and textual sources
topic recommender system
deep neural network recommender system
multiview
transformer model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/10/6324
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