A plurality of database search path candidates are automatically determined and provided. Databases containing information with similar characteristics are divided into groups (hereafter referred to as a "category group"), and a correlation diagram is created based on links between those category groups. In the diagram, high priority is given to links between category groups constituting a path that has to be passed through due to relevance between the characteristic of databases, and normal priority is given to other links. When a path search is carried out in this diagram, an important path is selected regardless of attributes such as distance between databases or time by carrying out a first path search along the high priority path between category groups.