What do You Mean? Finding Answers to Complex Questions

Anne R. Diekema, Utah State University
Ozgur Yilmazel, Syracuse University
Jiangping Chen, Syracuse University, School of Information Studies, Center for Natural Language Processing
Sarah Harwell, Syracuse University
Elizabeth D. Liddy, Syracuse University
Lan He, Syracuse University

Abstract

This paper illustrates ongoing research and issues faced when dealing with real-time questions in the domain of Reusable Launch Vehicles (aerospace engineering). The question- answering system described in this paper is used in a collaborative learning environment with real users and live questions. The paper describes an analysis of these more complex questions as well as research to include the user in the question-answering process by implementing a question negotiation module based on the traditional reference interview.