# PDF Retrieval Augmented Question Answering

Source: [PDF Retrieval Augmented Question Answering](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa798e1e209131cea7e339>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2026-04-09T05:00:04.534Z

Authors: Thi Thu Uyen Hoang, Meenakshi Rajendran, Kun Zhang, Yuhan Wu, Viet Anh Nguyen

Published: 2025-06-22T13:14:19.000Z

## Abstract

This paper presents an advancement in Question-Answering (QA) systems using a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) framework to enhance information extraction from PDF files. Recognizing the richness and diversity of data within PDFs--including text, images, vector diagrams, graphs, and tables--poses unique challenges for existing QA systems primarily designed for textual content. We seek to develop a comprehensive RAG-based QA system that will effectively address complex multimodal questions, where several data types are combined in the query. This is mainly achieved by refining approaches to processing and integrating non-textual elements in PDFs into the RAG framework to derive precise and relevant answers, as well as fine-tuning large language models to better adapt to our system. We provide an in-depth experimental evaluation of our solution, demonstrating its capability to extract accurate information that can be applied to different types of content across PDFs. This work not only pushes the boundaries of retrieval-augmented QA systems but also lays a foundation for further research in multimodal data integration and processing.

## Recorded benchmark results

A research result applies to its stated dataset, split, metric and evaluation configuration. Compare like-for-like settings, preserve the metric's unit and direction, and distinguish paper-reported results from independent reproduction. The best result recorded here is not a claim of exhaustive, current global coverage.

## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18027>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.18027.pdf>)
