Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Ontology definition and construction, and epistemological adequacy for systems interoperability: a practitioner analysis.

Lumsden, Jim; Hall, Hazel; Cruickshank, Peter

Authors

Jim Lumsden

Hazel Hall



Abstract

Ontology development is considered to be a useful approach to the design and implementation of interoperable systems. This literature review and commentary examines the current state of knowledge in this field with particular reference to processes involved in assuring epistemological adequacy. It takes the perspective of the information systems practitioner keen to adopt a systematic approach to in-house ontology design, taking into consideration previously published work. The study arises from author involvement in an integration/interoperability project on systems that support Scottish Common Housing Registers in which, ultimately, ontological modelling was not deployed. Issues concerning the agreement of meaning, and the implications for the creation of interoperable systems, are discussed. The extent to which those theories, methods and frameworks provide practitioners with a usable set of tools is explored, and examples of practical applications of ontological modelling are noted. The findings from the review of the literature demonstrate a number of difficulties faced by information systems practitioners keen to develop and deploy domain ontologies. A major problem is deciding which broad approach to take: to rely on automatic ontology construction techniques, or to rely on key words and domain experts to develop ontologies.

Citation

Lumsden, J., Hall, H., & Cruickshank, P. (2011). Ontology definition and construction, and epistemological adequacy for systems interoperability: a practitioner analysis. Journal of Information Science, 37(3), 246-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551511401804

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Apr 18, 2011
Publication Date Jun 1, 2011
Deposit Date Feb 7, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Information Science
Print ISSN 0165-5515
Electronic ISSN 1741-6485
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 37
Issue 3
Pages 246-253
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551511401804
Keywords Ontology; systems interoperability;
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/4158
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0165551511401804

Files







You might also like



Downloadable Citations