Discovering question and answer pairs
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsGao Cong, Chin-Yew Lin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a new approach to extracting question-answer pairs from online forums. The system develops a classification-based technique to discover questions in forums using sequential patterns automatically extracted from both questions and non-question sentences in forums as features. Once the questions are discovered, the system discovers the answers. The invention includes a graph-based method is that it is complementary with supervised methods for knowledge extraction, and techniques for question answering.
Claims20
A system for discovering questions and answers, the system comprising:
- a component for identifying questions from text sections of a database, wherein the questions are identified using a classification-based method that utilizes sequential pattern features automatically extracted from both questions and non-questions text sections;
- a component for identifying answers from text sections of the database, wherein the answers are identified by the use of a graph-based propagation model, and wherein the component for identifying answers is configured to produce a list of ranked candidate answers for the identified questions.
A method for discovering questions and answers, the method comprising:
- identifying questions from text sections of a database, wherein the questions are identified using a classification-based method that utilizes sequential pattern features automatically extracted from both questions and non-questions text sections;
- identifying answers from text sections of the database, wherein the answers are identified by the use of a graph-based propagation model, and wherein the component for identifying answers is configured to produce a list of ranked candidate answers for the identified questions.
A computer-readable storage media comprising computer executable instructions to, upon execution, perform a process for discovering questions and answers, the process including:
- identifying questions from text sections of a database, wherein the questions are identified using a classification-based method that utilizes sequential pattern features automatically extracted from both questions and non-questions text sections;
- identifying answers from text sections of the database, wherein the answers are identified by the use of a graph-based propagation model, and wherein the component for identifying answers is configured to produce a list of ranked candidate answers for the identified questions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.