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Explainable Token-level Noise Filtering for LLM Fine-tuning Datasets

Yuchen Yang, Wenze Lin, Enhao Huang, Zhixuan Chu, Hongbin Zhou, Lan Tao, Yiming Li, Zhan Qin, Kui Ren · Feb 16, 2026 · Citations: 0

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Data freshness

Extraction: Fresh

Check recency before relying on this page for active eval decisions. Use stale pages as context and verify against current hub results.

Metadata refreshed

Mar 9, 2026, 7:42 AM

Stale

Extraction refreshed

Apr 13, 2026, 6:38 AM

Fresh

Extraction source

Persisted extraction

Confidence 0.20

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) have seen remarkable advancements, achieving state-of-the-art results in diverse applications. Fine-tuning, an important step for adapting LLMs to specific downstream tasks, typically involves further training on corresponding datasets. However, a fundamental discrepancy exists between current fine-tuning datasets and the token-level optimization mechanism of LLMs: most datasets are designed at the sentence-level, which introduces token-level noise, causing negative influence to final performance. In this paper, we propose XTF, an explainable token-level noise filtering framework. XTF decomposes the complex and subtle contributions of token-level data to the fine-tuning process into three distinct and explicit attributes (reasoning importance, knowledge novelty, and task relevance), which can be assessed using scoring methods, and then masks the gradients of selected noisy tokens accordingly to optimize the performance of fine-tuned LLMs. We conduct extensive experiments on three representative downstream tasks (math, code and medicine) across 7 mainstream LLMs. The results demonstrate that XTF can significantly improve downstream performance by up to 13.7% compared to regular fine-tuning. Our work highlights the importance of token-level dataset optimization, and demonstrates the potential of strategies based on attribute decomposition for explaining complex training mechanisms.

Low-signal caution for protocol decisions

Use this page for context, then validate protocol choices against stronger HFEPX references before implementation decisions.

  • Extraction flags indicate low-signal or possible false-positive protocol mapping.
  • Extraction confidence is 0.20 (below strong-reference threshold).
  • No explicit evaluation mode was extracted from available metadata.
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HFEPX Relevance Assessment

This paper is adjacent to HFEPX scope and is best used for background context, not as a primary protocol reference.

Best use

Background context only

Use if you need

Background context only.

Main weakness

Extraction flags indicate low-signal or possible false-positive protocol mapping.

Trust level

Low

Eval-Fit Score

0/100 • Low

Treat as adjacent context, not a core eval-method reference.

Human Feedback Signal

Not explicit in abstract metadata

Evaluation Signal

Weak / implicit signal

HFEPX Fit

Adjacent candidate

Extraction confidence: Low

If you are doing eval pipeline work, start here:

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Field Provenance & Confidence

Each key protocol field shows extraction state, confidence band, and data source so you can decide whether to trust it directly or validate from full text.

Human Feedback Types

missing

None explicit

Confidence: Low Source: Persisted extraction missing

No explicit feedback protocol extracted.

Evidence snippet: Large Language Models (LLMs) have seen remarkable advancements, achieving state-of-the-art results in diverse applications.

Evaluation Modes

missing

None explicit

Confidence: Low Source: Persisted extraction missing

Validate eval design from full paper text.

Evidence snippet: Large Language Models (LLMs) have seen remarkable advancements, achieving state-of-the-art results in diverse applications.

Quality Controls

missing

Not reported

Confidence: Low Source: Persisted extraction missing

No explicit QC controls found.

Evidence snippet: Large Language Models (LLMs) have seen remarkable advancements, achieving state-of-the-art results in diverse applications.

Benchmarks / Datasets

missing

Not extracted

Confidence: Low Source: Persisted extraction missing

No benchmark anchors detected.

Evidence snippet: Large Language Models (LLMs) have seen remarkable advancements, achieving state-of-the-art results in diverse applications.

Reported Metrics

partial

Relevance

Confidence: Low Source: Persisted extraction evidenced

Useful for evaluation criteria comparison.

Evidence snippet: XTF decomposes the complex and subtle contributions of token-level data to the fine-tuning process into three distinct and explicit attributes (reasoning importance, knowledge novelty, and task relevance), which can be assessed using scoring methods, and then masks the gradients of selected noisy tokens accordingly to optimize the performance of fine-tuned LLMs.

Rater Population

missing

Unknown

Confidence: Low Source: Persisted extraction missing

Rater source not explicitly reported.

Evidence snippet: Large Language Models (LLMs) have seen remarkable advancements, achieving state-of-the-art results in diverse applications.

Human Data Lens

  • Uses human feedback: No
  • Feedback types: None
  • Rater population: Unknown
  • Unit of annotation: Unknown
  • Expertise required: Math, Coding
  • Extraction source: Persisted extraction

Evaluation Lens

  • Evaluation modes:
  • Agentic eval: None
  • Quality controls: Not reported
  • Confidence: 0.20
  • Flags: low_signal, possible_false_positive

Protocol And Measurement Signals

Benchmarks / Datasets

No benchmark or dataset names were extracted from the available abstract.

Reported Metrics

relevance

Research Brief

Deterministic synthesis

In this paper, we propose XTF, an explainable token-level noise filtering framework. HFEPX protocol signal is limited in abstract-level metadata, so treat it as adjacent context. Updated from current HFEPX corpus.

Generated Apr 13, 2026, 6:38 AM · Grounded in abstract + metadata only

Key Takeaways

  • In this paper, we propose XTF, an explainable token-level noise filtering framework.
  • The results demonstrate that XTF can significantly improve downstream performance by up to 13.7% compared to regular fine-tuning.
  • Abstract shows limited direct human-feedback or evaluation-protocol detail; use as adjacent methodological context.

Researcher Actions

  • Treat this as method context, then pivot to protocol-specific HFEPX hubs.
  • Identify benchmark choices from full text before operationalizing conclusions.
  • Validate metric comparability (relevance).

Caveats

  • Generated from title, abstract, and extracted metadata only; full-paper implementation details are not parsed.
  • Low-signal flag detected: protocol relevance may be indirect.

Research Summary

Contribution Summary

  • In this paper, we propose XTF, an explainable token-level noise filtering framework.
  • The results demonstrate that XTF can significantly improve downstream performance by up to 13.7% compared to regular fine-tuning.

Why It Matters For Eval

  • Abstract shows limited direct human-feedback or evaluation-protocol detail; use as adjacent methodological context.

Researcher Checklist

  • Gap: Human feedback protocol is explicit

    No explicit human feedback protocol detected.

  • Gap: Evaluation mode is explicit

    No clear evaluation mode extracted.

  • Gap: Quality control reporting appears

    No calibration/adjudication/IAA control explicitly detected.

  • Gap: Benchmark or dataset anchors are present

    No benchmark/dataset anchor extracted from abstract.

  • Pass: Metric reporting is present

    Detected: relevance

Category-Adjacent Papers (Broader Context)

These papers are nearby in arXiv category and useful for broader context, but not necessarily protocol-matched to this paper.

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