Algorithm Performance Spaces for Strategic Dataset Selection

The evaluation of new algorithms in recommender systems frequently depends on publicly available datasets, such as those from MovieLens or Amazon. Some of these datasets are being disproportionately utilized primarily due to their historical popularity as baselines rather than their suitability for specific research contexts. This thesis addresses this issue by introducing the Algorithm Performance Space, a novel framework designed to differentiate datasets based on the measured performance of algorithms applied to them. An experimental study proposes three metrics to quantify and justify dataset selection to evaluate new algorithms. These metrics also validate assumptions about datasets, such as the similarity between MovieLens datasets of varying sizes. By creating an Algorithm Performance Space and using the proposed metrics, differentiating datasets was made possible, and diverse dataset selections could be found. While the results demonstrate the framework's potential, further research proposals and implications are discussed to develop Algorithm Performance Spaces tailored to diverse use cases.

@article{schulz2025_2505.01442,
  title={ Algorithm Performance Spaces for Strategic Dataset Selection },
  author={ Steffen Schulz },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.01442},
  year={ 2025 }
}