Glossary · Retrieval & generation

Maximum Marginal Relevance (MMR)

A selection rule that balances relevance to the query with novelty relative to items already selected.

Why it matters

It can reduce redundant chunks so a limited context budget covers more distinct evidence.

In practice

Retrieve a candidate pool, select the next item using a documented relevance-diversity weight, and evaluate both answer quality and source coverage.

Common confusion

MMR diversifies an existing candidate set; it does not retrieve missing evidence or prove that selected passages are correct.

Related terms

Sources

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