From Question Answering to Visual Exploration

Success in Question Answering has been traditionally measured by precision and recall, which are good metrics for identifying specific best answer(s) that might be obtained by a lookup type of search. These metrics do not address the many information gathering techniques in exploratory interactions. In this paper, we present an integrated Question Answering environment that combines a visual analytics tool with state-of-the-art query expansion, and complements the cognitive processes associated with an information analyst’s work flow. In our system, questions result in a comprehensive answer space that allows users to explore the variety within the answers and spot related information in the rest of the data. The exploratory nature of the dialog between the user and this system requires tailored evaluation methods that better address the evolving user goals and counter cognitive biases inherent to exploratory search tasks.