# Beyond Explicit Edges: Robust Reasoning over Noisy and Sparse Knowledge Graphs

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.14006 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.14006/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Knowledge- and tool-augmented reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning.
- Builds on 11 of its 71 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 14 Mar 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM reasoning / [Knowledge- and tool-augmented reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/lr/knowledge-and-tool-augmented-reasoning/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Large Language Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.10997/) (2023)
- [From Local to Global: A Graph RAG Approach to Query-Focused Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16130/) (2024)
- [A Survey on LLM-as-a-Judge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.15594/) (2024)
- [Gemini: A Family of Highly Capable Multimodal Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.11805/) (2023)
- [C-Pack: Packed Resources For General Chinese Embeddings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.07597/) (2023)
- [LightRAG: Simple and Fast Retrieval-Augmented Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.05779/) (2024)
- [Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and Beyond: A Comprehensive Survey on How to Make your LLMs use External Data More Wisely](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14924/) (2024)
- [RAG vs. GraphRAG: A Systematic Evaluation and Key Insights](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11371/) (2025)
- [In-depth Analysis of Graph-based RAG in a Unified Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04338/) (2025)
- [You Don't Need Pre-built Graphs for RAG: Retrieval Augmented Generation with Adaptive Reasoning Structures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06105/) (2025)
- [LAG: Logic-Augmented Generation from a Cartesian Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.05509/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Better Later Than Sooner: Neuro-Symbolic Knowledge Graph Construction via Ontology-grounded Post-extraction Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.29168/) (2026)
- [CLIMB: Confidence-Guided Complementary Evidence for Multimodal Retrieval-Augmented Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.03421/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

GraphRAG is increasingly adopted for converting unstructured corpora into graph structures to enable multi-hop reasoning. However, standard graph algorithms rely heavily on static connectivity and explicit edges, often failing in real-world scenarios where Knowledge Graphs (KGs) are noisy, sparse, or incomplete. To address this limitation, we introduce INSES (Intelligent Navigation and Similarity Enhanced Search), a dynamic framework designed to reason beyond explicit edges. INSES couples LLM-guided navigation, which prunes noise and steers exploration, with embedding-based similarity expansion to recover hidden links and bridge semantic gaps. Recognizing the computational cost of graph reasoning, we complement INSES with a lightweight router that delegates simple queries to Na"ive RAG and escalates complex cases to INSES, balancing efficiency with reasoning depth. Experimental results show that INSES performs favorably compared to established RAG and GraphRAG baselines on multiple benchmarks. In particular, on the MINE benchmark, it exhibits notable robustness and adaptability across KGs constructed by varying methods. Our code and data are publicly available at https://github.com/hanggao-gh/INSES .