We present a study of retrieval-augmented language models (LMs) on long-form
question answering. We analyze how retrieval augmentation impacts different
LMs, by comparing answers generated from models while using the same evidence
documents, and how differing quality of retrieval document set impacts the
answers generated from the same LM. We study various attributes of generated
answers (e.g., fluency, length, variance) with an emphasis on the attribution
of generated long-form answers to in-context evidence documents. We collect
human annotations of answer attribution and evaluate methods for automatically
judging attribution. Our study provides new insights on how retrieval
augmentation impacts long, knowledge-rich text generation of LMs. We further
identify attribution patterns for long text generation and analyze the main
culprits of attribution errors. Together, our analysis reveals how retrieval
augmentation impacts long knowledge-rich text generation and provide directions
for future work.

通过使用相同的证据文档比较使用不同检索增强模型生成的答案，分析了检索增强对不同语言模型的影响，以及检索文档集的质量对相同语言模型生成的答案的影响。研究了生成答案的各种属性（如流利度、长度、差异等），重点是将生成的长篇答案与上下文证据文档进行归因。我们收集了对答案归因的人工注释，并评估了自动判断归因的方法。研究结果揭示了检索增强对基于语言模型的长篇、知识丰富文本生成的影响，分析了归因错误的主要原因，为未来的研究提供了方向。

理解长文问答的检索增强

Understanding Retrieval Augmentation for Long-Form Question Answering

The renowned proverb, Numbers do not lie, underscores the reliability and
insight that lie beneath numbers, a concept of undisputed importance,
especially in economics and finance etc. Despite the prosperity of Benford's
Law in the first digit analysis, its scope fails to remain comprehensiveness
when it comes to deciphering the laws of number. This paper delves into number
laws by taking the financial statements of China real estate as a
representative, quantitatively study not only the first digit, but also depict
the other two dimensions of numbers: frequency and length. The research
outcomes transcend mere reservations about data manipulation and open the door
to discussions surrounding number diversity and the delineation of the usage
insights. This study wields both economic significance and the capacity to
foster a deeper comprehension of numerical phenomena.

通过定量研究中国房地产的财务报表，本文深入探讨数字定律，不仅对第一位数字进行分析，还描绘了数字的另外两个维度：频率和长度。研究结果超越了对数据操纵的简单理解，为数字多样性和使用洞察力的界定打开了新的讨论空间。这项研究具有经济意义，能够促进对数字现象的更深刻理解。