An introduction to question answering over linked data

While the amount of knowledge available as linked data grows, so does the need for providing end users with access to this knowledge. Especially question answering systems are receiving much interest, as they provide intuitive access to data via natural language and shield end users from technical aspects related to data modelling, vocabularies and query languages. This tutorial gives an introduction to the rapidly developing field of question answering over linked data. It gives an overview of the main challenges involved in the interpretation of a user’s information need expressed in natural language with respect to the data that is queried. The paper summarizes the main existing approaches and systems including available tools and resources, benchmarks and evaluation campaigns. Finally, it lists the open topics that will keep question answering over linked data an exciting area of research in the years to come. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.