{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4414564754","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747741","title":"RAGTrace: Understanding and Refining Retrieval-Generation Dynamics in Retrieval-Augmented Generation","display_name":"RAGTrace: Understanding and Refining Retrieval-Generation Dynamics in Retrieval-Augmented Generation","publication_year":2025,"publication_date":"2025-09-27","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4414564754","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747741"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3746059.3747741","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747741","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"type":"conference-paper","indexed_in":["arxiv","crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.06056","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Sizhe Cheng","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2474-9230"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I3045169105","display_name":"Southern University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/049tv2d57","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Sizhe Cheng","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern Univerisity of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2474-9230","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern Univerisity of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5072082018","display_name":"Jiaping Li","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0128-8993"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I3045169105","display_name":"Southern University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/049tv2d57","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Jiaping Li","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0128-8993","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5102991254","display_name":"Huanchen Wang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9339-1941"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I3045169105","display_name":"Southern University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/049tv2d57","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Huanchen Wang","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China and Department of Computer Science, City University Of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9339-1941","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China and Department of Computer Science, City University Of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5101409792","display_name":"Yuxin Ma","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0484-668X"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I3045169105","display_name":"Southern University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/049tv2d57","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yuxin Ma","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0484-668X","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":1,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3045169105"],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":4,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":"1","last_page":"20"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.9994999766349792,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.9994999766349792,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11986","display_name":"Scientific Computing and Data Management","score":0.9872999787330627,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1802","display_name":"Information Systems and Management"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/18","display_name":"Decision Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11719","display_name":"Data Quality and Management","score":0.9835000038146973,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1803","display_name":"Management Science and Operations Research"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/18","display_name":"Decision Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/workflow","display_name":"Workflow","score":0.7325999736785889},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/trace","display_name":"TRACE (psycholinguistics)","score":0.48570001125335693},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/focus","display_name":"Focus (optics)","score":0.4645000100135803},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/quality","display_name":"Quality (philosophy)","score":0.4388999938964844},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/relevance","display_name":"Relevance (law)","score":0.40389999747276306},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/expert-system","display_name":"Expert system","score":0.38019999861717224},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/data-retrieval","display_name":"Data retrieval","score":0.3553999960422516}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.7709000110626221},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177212765","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q627335","display_name":"Workflow","level":2,"score":0.7325999736785889},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C75291252","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1315756","display_name":"TRACE (psycholinguistics)","level":2,"score":0.48570001125335693},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C192209626","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190909","display_name":"Focus (optics)","level":2,"score":0.4645000100135803},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779530757","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1207505","display_name":"Quality (philosophy)","level":2,"score":0.4388999938964844},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C158154518","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7310970","display_name":"Relevance (law)","level":2,"score":0.40389999747276306},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C58328972","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q184609","display_name":"Expert system","level":2,"score":0.38019999861717224},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C551230270","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4368942","display_name":"Data retrieval","level":2,"score":0.3553999960422516},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2522767166","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2374463","display_name":"Data science","level":1,"score":0.34119999408721924},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C39890363","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36108","display_name":"Generative grammar","level":2,"score":0.34060001373291016},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C23123220","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q816826","display_name":"Information retrieval","level":1,"score":0.3296999931335449},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C145912823","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113558","display_name":"Dynamics (music)","level":2,"score":0.3264000117778778},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.32600000500679016},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C77405623","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q598451","display_name":"System dynamics","level":2,"score":0.31360000371932983},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C124101348","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172491","display_name":"Data mining","level":1,"score":0.31220000982284546},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C136197465","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1729295","display_name":"Variety (cybernetics)","level":2,"score":0.30660000443458557},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C161156560","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1638872","display_name":"Document retrieval","level":2,"score":0.29440000653266907},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115903868","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80993","display_name":"Software engineering","level":1,"score":0.29280000925064087},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.267300009727478},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C207685749","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2088941","display_name":"Domain knowledge","level":2,"score":0.2572000026702881},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C201995342","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q682496","display_name":"Systems engineering","level":1,"score":0.25110000371932983}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1145/3746059.3747741","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747741","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2508.06056","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"http://arxiv.org/abs/2508.06056","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.06056","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2508.06056","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"http://arxiv.org/abs/2508.06056","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.06056","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":65,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W2017778577","https://openalex.org/W2020713996","https://openalex.org/W2059442634","https://openalex.org/W2101105183","https://openalex.org/W3011998105","https://openalex.org/W3046798155","https://openalex.org/W3199384803","https://openalex.org/W4229065825","https://openalex.org/W4319311001","https://openalex.org/W4322707262","https://openalex.org/W4323322894","https://openalex.org/W4365597197","https://openalex.org/W4384648014","https://openalex.org/W4385261545","https://openalex.org/W4385565351","https://openalex.org/W4385569780","https://openalex.org/W4386142022","https://openalex.org/W4389518925","https://openalex.org/W4389921502","https://openalex.org/W4390204410","https://openalex.org/W4390490761","https://openalex.org/W4391136507","https://openalex.org/W4391376033","https://openalex.org/W4391855109","https://openalex.org/W4392240262","https://openalex.org/W4392487838","https://openalex.org/W4392617724","https://openalex.org/W4393147129","https://openalex.org/W4396713940","https://openalex.org/W4396827151","https://openalex.org/W4396832834","https://openalex.org/W4396833346","https://openalex.org/W4396833505","https://openalex.org/W4396833645","https://openalex.org/W4399530612","https://openalex.org/W4400410221","https://openalex.org/W4400525811","https://openalex.org/W4400526126","https://openalex.org/W4400530529","https://openalex.org/W4401042808","https://openalex.org/W4401453137","https://openalex.org/W4401834466","https://openalex.org/W4401857375","https://openalex.org/W4402351822","https://openalex.org/W4402371950","https://openalex.org/W4402389378","https://openalex.org/W4402401807","https://openalex.org/W4402684077","https://openalex.org/W4403334330","https://openalex.org/W4403334501","https://openalex.org/W4403420914","https://openalex.org/W4403511930","https://openalex.org/W4403582792","https://openalex.org/W4403899386","https://openalex.org/W4404058379","https://openalex.org/W4404351611","https://openalex.org/W4404782660","https://openalex.org/W4404835171","https://openalex.org/W4404914988","https://openalex.org/W4405143921","https://openalex.org/W4407028609","https://openalex.org/W4408120198","https://openalex.org/W4408184619","https://openalex.org/W4408326921","https://openalex.org/W4411630045"],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Retrieval-Augmented":[0],"Generation":[1],"(RAG)":[2],"systems":[3],"have":[4,27],"emerged":[5],"as":[6],"a":[7,37,75,85],"promising":[8],"solution":[9],"to":[10,64,94,128,142,151],"enhance":[11],"large":[12],"language":[13],"models":[14],"(LLMs)":[15],"by":[16,74],"integrating":[17],"external":[18],"knowledge":[19,44,130],"retrieval":[20,32,66,98,113,148],"with":[21],"generative":[22],"capabilities.":[23],"While":[24],"significant":[25],"advancements":[26],"been":[28],"made":[29],"in":[30,49,70],"improving":[31],"accuracy":[33],"and":[34,46,67,79,102,132,145,167],"response":[35],"quality,":[36],"critical":[38],"challenge":[39],"remains":[40],"that":[41,109],"the":[42,82,160],"internal":[43],"integration":[45],"retrieval-generation":[47,124],"interactions":[48],"RAG":[50,172],"workflows":[51],"are":[52],"largely":[53],"opaque.":[54],"This":[55],"paper":[56],"introduces":[57],"RAGTrace,":[58],"an":[59,120],"interactive":[60],"evaluation":[61,93,107],"system":[62,83,161],"designed":[63],"analyze":[65],"generation":[68,100,115],"dynamics":[69],"RAG-based":[71],"workflows.":[72],"Informed":[73],"comprehensive":[76],"literature":[77],"review":[78],"expert":[80,168],"interviews,":[81],"supports":[84],"multi-level":[86],"analysis":[87],"approach,":[88],"ranging":[89],"from":[90],"high-level":[91],"performance":[92],"fine-grained":[95],"examination":[96],"of":[97,123,155,159],"relevance,":[99],"fidelity,":[101],"cross-component":[103],"interactions.":[104],"Unlike":[105],"conventional":[106],"practices":[108],"focus":[110],"on":[111,147,170],"isolated":[112],"or":[114],"quality":[116],"assessments,":[117],"RAGTrace":[118],"enables":[119],"integrated":[121],"exploration":[122],"relationships,":[125],"allowing":[126],"users":[127,141],"trace":[129],"sources":[131],"identify":[133],"potential":[134],"failure":[135],"cases.":[136],"The":[137,157],"system's":[138],"workflow":[139],"allows":[140],"build,":[143],"evaluate,":[144],"iterate":[146],"processes":[149],"tailored":[150],"their":[152],"specific":[153],"domains":[154],"interest.":[156],"effectiveness":[158],"is":[162],"demonstrated":[163],"through":[164],"case":[165],"studies":[166],"evaluations":[169],"real-world":[171],"applications.":[173]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":3},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":1}],"updated_date":"2026-07-14T23:27:15.235271","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}