{
  "altLabels": [
    "Question Decomposition"
  ],
  "definition": "Breaking a complex query or information need into smaller subqueries or subproblems that can be retrieved or answered separately.",
  "derivedRelations": [
    {
      "target": "agentic-rag",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "deep-research",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Query decomposition breaks a complex information need into subqueries; query reformulation changes an existing query to better express or satisfy an information need.",
      "statement": "Query Decomposition is not Query Reformulation.",
      "target": "query-reformulation",
      "targetLabel": "Query Reformulation",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-reformulation/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Query decomposition creates subqueries or subproblems; query routing chooses the handling path or retrieval resource.",
      "statement": "Query Decomposition is not Query Routing.",
      "target": "query-routing",
      "targetLabel": "Query Routing",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-routing/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Query decomposition may be one step in a retrieval plan; retrieval planning chooses the overall retrieval strategy or sequence.",
      "statement": "Query Decomposition is not Retrieval Planning.",
      "target": "retrieval-planning",
      "targetLabel": "Retrieval Planning",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/retrieval-planning/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "query-decomposition",
  "kind": "Task",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Decomposing Complex Queries for Tip-of-the-tongue Retrieval",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.15053"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Query Decomposition",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Query decomposition breaks a complex information need into subqueries; query reformulation changes an existing query to better express or satisfy an information need.",
      "target": "query-reformulation",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Query decomposition creates subqueries or subproblems; query routing chooses the handling path or retrieval resource.",
      "target": "query-routing",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Query decomposition may be one step in a retrieval plan; retrieval planning chooses the overall retrieval strategy or sequence.",
      "target": "retrieval-planning",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-understanding",
      "type": "partOf"
    },
    {
      "target": "agentic-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "multi-hop-retrieval",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "question-answering",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "retrieval-planning",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-decomposition/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-decomposition.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-decomposition.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Query decomposition is common in multi-hop question answering, agentic retrieval, and complex search tasks. It is distinct from query reformulation, which changes a query, and from query routing, which decides where or how a query should be handled.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "industry",
      "label": "Subquery Generation",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    },
    {
      "community": "ml-nlp",
      "label": "Sub-Question Generation",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-decomposition/"
}