Session-based Recommendation with Graph Neural Networks (1811.00855v4)

Abstract: The problem of session-based recommendation aims to predict user actions based on anonymous sessions. Previous methods model a session as a sequence and estimate user representations besides item representations to make recommendations. Though achieved promising results, they are insufficient to obtain accurate user vectors in sessions and neglect complex transitions of items. To obtain accurate item embedding and take complex transitions of items into account, we propose a novel method, i.e. Session-based Recommendation with Graph Neural Networks, SR-GNN for brevity. In the proposed method, session sequences are modeled as graph-structured data. Based on the session graph, GNN can capture complex transitions of items, which are difficult to be revealed by previous conventional sequential methods. Each session is then represented as the composition of the global preference and the current interest of that session using an attention network. Extensive experiments conducted on two real datasets show that SR-GNN evidently outperforms the state-of-the-art session-based recommendation methods consistently.

Session-based Recommendation with Graph Neural Networks

The paper "Session-based Recommendation with Graph Neural Networks" by Shu Wu and colleagues introduces an innovative approach to session-based recommendation systems through the application of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). This method, referred to as SR-GNN, models session sequences as graph-structured data, aiming to capture complex item transitions that traditional sequential methods fail to reveal accurately.

Introduction

Session-based recommendation systems are crucial for predicting user actions based on anonymous sessions where user identification is not available. Traditional recommendation approaches struggle in this scenario due to the absence of sufficient user-specific data. This paper addresses these challenges by developing SR-GNN, which applies GNNs to model the intricate transitions among items in a session.

Model Formulation

The SR-GNN model innovatively represents session sequences as directed graphs, where each node corresponds to an item and each edge represents the transition between consecutive items. The directed graph accommodates the complexity of item transitions within sessions, which past methodologies, such as those based on Markov chains or Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), often overlook.

Learning Item Embeddings and Session Representations

The core of SR-GNN lies in learning node (item) embeddings through a GNN framework. The paper leverages gated Graph Neural Networks (GGNNs) to propagate information within the session graph and capture dependencies between items. For each session graph, node embeddings are dynamically updated using gated recurrent units, enhancing the model's ability to represent complex transitions.

Furthermore, the paper introduces a hybrid session representation combining long-term preference and current interest. This is achieved using an attention mechanism to weigh item importance, allowing the model to ignore noise and focus on significant user actions. The hybrid representation is a linear transformation of the concatenated local (last-click) and global (attention-weighted) session embeddings.

Experimental Validation and Results

The proposed method was rigorously tested against state-of-the-art techniques, including Item-KNN, GRU4REC, NARM, and STAMP, on two datasets: Yoochoose and Diginetica. The experiments demonstrated that SR-GNN consistently outperforms these methods in terms of precision (@20) and mean reciprocal rank (@20). Notably, SR-GNN achieved P@20 scores of 70.57% and 71.36% on Yoochoose 1/64 and Yoochoose 1/4 datasets, respectively, and a score of 50.73% on the Diginetica dataset. These results underscore the efficacy of leveraging graph structures to model session data for improved recommendation accuracy.

Implications and Future Directions

The implication of this research is multifaceted. Practically, the SR-GNN model addresses the inherent limitations of traditional session-based recommendation systems by accurately modeling item transitions and user interests within sessions. Theoretically, this approach opens new avenues for research in graph-based modeling for various sequential tasks beyond recommendation systems.

Future developments could include exploring different graph construction strategies to further enhance item transition modeling or integrating additional content features into the graph representation. Another interesting direction is extending this framework to more sophisticated user interaction models, potentially incorporating reinforcement learning for dynamic recommendation adjustments.

In conclusion, SR-GNN represents a significant advancement in the field of session-based recommendation systems, offering an effective solution to capture and utilize complex item transitions within sessions through the innovative application of Graph Neural Networks. The successful results evidenced in their experiments highlight both the robustness and potential of this model for broader applications in sequential data modeling.