Enhancing Domain-Specific Retrieval-Augmented Generation: Synthetic Data Generation and Evaluation using Reasoning Models

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new framework combining token-aware evaluation metrics and synthetic data generation with reasoning models to improve retrieval-augmented generation in technical domains, addressing current evaluation limitations.

Contribution

It develops token-aware metrics and a reasoning model-driven pipeline for generating domain-specific QA pairs, enhancing RAG system evaluation and performance in complex technical texts.

Findings

Smaller chunks (<10 tokens) improve precision by 31-42%.

Domain-specific embeddings cause 22% variance in optimal chunk size.

DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B outperforms alternatives in concept alignment.

Abstract

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems face significant performance gaps when applied to technical domains requiring precise information extraction from complex documents. Current evaluation methodologies relying on document-level metrics inadequately capture token-resolution retrieval accuracy that is critical for domain-related documents. We propose a framework combining granular evaluation metrics with synthetic data generation to optimize domain-specific RAG performance. First, we introduce token-aware metrics Precision $\Omega$ and Intersection-over-Union (IoU) that quantify context preservation versus information density trade-offs inherent in technical texts. Second, we develop a reasoning model-driven pipeline using instruction-tuned LLMs (DeepSeek-R1, DeepSeek-R1 distilled variants, and Phi-4) to generate context-anchored QA pairs with discontinuous reference spans across three specialized corpora: SEC 10-K filings (finance), biomedical abstracts (PubMed), and APT threat reports (cybersecurity). Our empirical analysis reveals critical insights: smaller chunks (less than 10 tokens) improve precision by 31-42% (IoU = 0.071 vs. baseline 0.053) at recall costs (-18%), while domain-specific embedding strategies yield 22% variance in optimal chunk sizing (5-20 tokens). The DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B model demonstrates superior concept alignment (+14% mean IoU over alternatives), though no configuration universally dominates. Financial texts favor larger chunks for risk factor coverage (Recall = 0.81 at size = 20), whereas cybersecurity content benefits from atomic segmentation, Precision $\Omega = 0.28$ at size = 5. Our code is available on https://github.com/aryan-jadon/Synthetic-Data-Generation-and-Evaluation-using-Reasoning-Model