{
  "altLabels": [
    "Iterative Search"
  ],
  "definition": "A retrieval pattern in which retrieval is performed repeatedly, with later retrieval attempts informed by earlier results, feedback, reasoning, reformulation, or intermediate state.",
  "derivedRelations": [
    {
      "target": "multi-hop-retrieval",
      "type": "narrower"
    }
  ],
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Iterative retrieval may be agent-driven, user-driven, or system-driven; agentic retrieval specifically involves an agent controlling the retrieval loop.",
      "statement": "Iterative Retrieval is not Agentic Retrieval.",
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Agentic Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/agentic-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Interactive search emphasizes user-system interaction; iterative retrieval can happen internally without user interaction.",
      "statement": "Iterative Retrieval is not Interactive Search.",
      "target": "interactive-search",
      "targetLabel": "Interactive Search",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/interactive-search/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Iterative retrieval repeats retrieval attempts; multi-hop retrieval specifically uses multiple dependent evidence hops or subproblems.",
      "statement": "Iterative Retrieval is not Multi-Hop Retrieval.",
      "target": "multi-hop-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Multi-Hop Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/multi-hop-retrieval/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Query reformulation changes a query; iterative retrieval is the broader repeated retrieval pattern that may use reformulation between attempts.",
      "statement": "Iterative Retrieval is not Query Reformulation.",
      "target": "query-reformulation",
      "targetLabel": "Query Reformulation",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-reformulation/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Iterative retrieval performs repeated retrieval attempts; single-shot retrieval performs one non-iterative retrieval attempt.",
      "statement": "Iterative Retrieval is not Single-Shot Retrieval.",
      "target": "single-shot-retrieval",
      "targetLabel": "Single-Shot Retrieval",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/single-shot-retrieval/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "iterative-retrieval",
  "kind": "Task",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Relevance feedback and query expansion",
      "type": "canonicalSurvey",
      "url": "https://nlp.stanford.edu/IR-book/html/htmledition/relevance-feedback-and-query-expansion-1.html"
    },
    {
      "label": "Generative Multi-hop Retrieval",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.13596"
    },
    {
      "label": "Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation",
      "type": "canonicalSurvey",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09136"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Iterative Retrieval",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "target": "retrieval",
      "type": "broader"
    },
    {
      "note": "Iterative retrieval may be agent-driven, user-driven, or system-driven; agentic retrieval specifically involves an agent controlling the retrieval loop.",
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Interactive search emphasizes user-system interaction; iterative retrieval can happen internally without user interaction.",
      "target": "interactive-search",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Iterative retrieval repeats retrieval attempts; multi-hop retrieval specifically uses multiple dependent evidence hops or subproblems.",
      "target": "multi-hop-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Query reformulation changes a query; iterative retrieval is the broader repeated retrieval pattern that may use reformulation between attempts.",
      "target": "query-reformulation",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Iterative retrieval performs repeated retrieval attempts; single-shot retrieval performs one non-iterative retrieval attempt.",
      "target": "single-shot-retrieval",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "interactive-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "pseudo-relevance-feedback",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-reformulation",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "retrieval-planning",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "session-search",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "single-shot-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/iterative-retrieval/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/iterative-retrieval.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/iterative-retrieval.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Iterative retrieval is broader than multi-hop retrieval and broader than agentic retrieval. The iteration may be user-driven, system-driven, feedback-driven, or agent-driven. It is distinct from interactive search, which emphasizes user-system interaction, and from single-shot retrieval, which performs one non-iterative retrieval attempt.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Repeated Retrieval",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    },
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Retrieval Loop",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    },
    {
      "community": "ml-nlp",
      "label": "Iterative RAG",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/iterative-retrieval/"
}