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Given a natural language query, teaching machines to ask clarifying questions is of immense utility in practical natural language processing systems. Such interactions could help in filling information gaps for better machine comprehension…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-08-19 Vaibhav Kumar , Vikas Raunak , Jamie Callan

Inquiry is fundamental to communication, and machines cannot effectively collaborate with humans unless they can ask questions. In this work, we build a neural network model for the task of ranking clarification questions. Our model is…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2018-06-14 Sudha Rao , Hal Daumé

Context and Motivation: Due to their increasing complexity, everyday software systems are becoming increasingly opaque for users. A frequently adopted method to address this difficulty is explainability, which aims to make systems more…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2025-06-18 Martin Obaidi , Jannik Fischbach , Marc Herrmann , Hannah Deters , Jakob Droste , Jil Klünder , Kurt Schneider

Information-seeking dialogues span a wide range of questions, from simple factoid to complex queries that require exploring multiple facets and viewpoints. When performing exploratory searches in unfamiliar domains, users may lack…

Information Retrieval · Computer Science 2024-10-30 Weronika Łajewska , Krisztian Balog , Damiano Spina , Johanne Trippas

Understanding search queries is a hard problem as it involves dealing with "word salad" text ubiquitously issued by users. However, if a query resembles a well-formed question, a natural language processing pipeline is able to perform more…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2018-08-29 Manaal Faruqui , Dipanjan Das

While it is often assumed that searching for information to evaluate misinformation will help identify false claims, recent work suggests that search behaviours can instead reinforce belief in misleading news, particularly when users…

Online consumer reviews play a crucial role in guiding purchase decisions by offering insights into product quality, usability, and performance. However, the increasing volume of user-generated reviews has led to information overload,…

Information Retrieval · Computer Science 2026-01-12 Muhammad Mufti , Omar Hammad , Mahfuzur Rahman

The ability to understand a user's underlying needs is critical for conversational systems, especially with limited input from users in a conversation. Thus, in such a domain, Asking Clarification Questions (ACQs) to reveal users' true…

Information Retrieval · Computer Science 2023-05-26 Hossein A. Rahmani , Xi Wang , Yue Feng , Qiang Zhang , Emine Yilmaz , Aldo Lipani

Pluralistic alignment requires systems to adapt to diverse user values, communication styles, and contextual assumptions. We believe that a foundational prerequisite for such alignment enabling accurate preference elicitation from people…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-05-26 Jinyan Su , Jennifer Healey

We deal with the scenario of conversational search, where user queries are under-specified or ambiguous. This calls for a mixed-initiative setup. User-asks (queries) and system-answers, as well as system-asks (clarification questions) and…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2022-05-24 Yosi Mass , Doron Cohen , Asaf Yehudai , David Konopnicki

Clarifying the underlying user information need by asking clarifying questions is an important feature of modern conversational search system. However, evaluation of such systems through answering prompted clarifying questions requires…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2022-04-21 Ivan Sekulić , Mohammad Aliannejadi , Fabio Crestani

User-centered approaches have been extensively studied and used in the area of struggling search. Related research has targeted key aspects of users such as user satisfaction or frustration, and search success or failure, using a variety of…

Human-Computer Interaction · Computer Science 2019-07-19 Luyan Xu , Xuan Zhou , Ujwal Gadiraju

Despite the potential impact of explanations on decision making, there is a lack of research on quantifying their effect on users' choices. This paper presents an experimental protocol for measuring the degree to which positively or…

Human-Computer Interaction · Computer Science 2023-03-17 Krisztian Balog , Filip Radlinski , Andrey Petrov

Explainable artificial intelligence techniques are developed at breakneck speed, but suitable evaluation approaches lag behind. With explainers becoming increasingly complex and a lack of consensus on how to assess their utility, it is…

Human-Computer Interaction · Computer Science 2023-04-18 Edward Small , Yueqing Xuan , Danula Hettiachchi , Kacper Sokol

Clarification questions help conversational search systems resolve ambiguous or underspecified user queries. While prior work has focused on fluency and alignment with user intent, especially through facet extraction, much less attention…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-01-21 Ahmed Rayane Kebir , Vincent Guigue , Lynda Said Lhadj , Laure Soulier

Machine learning systems have become popular in fields such as marketing, financing, or data mining. While they are highly accurate, complex machine learning systems pose challenges for engineers and users. Their inherent complexity makes…

Computers and Society · Computer Science 2019-07-31 Andrea Papenmeier , Gwenn Englebienne , Christin Seifert

In today's digitalized world, where software systems are becoming increasingly ubiquitous and complex, the quality aspect of explainability is gaining relevance. A major challenge in achieving adequate explanations is the elicitation of…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2025-06-23 Hannah Deters , Laura Reinhardt , Jakob Droste , Martin Obaidi , Kurt Schneider

Resolving ambiguities through interaction is a hallmark of natural language, and modeling this behavior is a core challenge in crafting AI assistants. In this work, we study such behavior in LMs by proposing a task-agnostic framework for…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2023-11-17 Michael J. Q. Zhang , Eunsol Choi

Research on customer satisfaction has increased substantially in recent years. However, the relative importance and relationships between different determinants of satisfaction remains uncertain. Moreover, quantitative studies to date tend…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2017-11-23 Radoslaw Kowalski , Marc Esteve , Slava J. Mikhaylov

Explanations are essential in software engineering (SE) and requirements communication, helping stakeholders clarify ambiguities, justify design choices, and build shared understanding. Online Q&A forums such as Stack Overflow provide…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2026-01-22 Martin Obaidi , Kushtrim Qengaj , Hannah Deters , Jakob Droste , Marc Herrmann , Kurt Schneider , Jil Klünder