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How Ontologies are Made: Studying the Hidden Social Dynamics Behind Collaborative Ontology Engineering Projects
Markus Strohmaier1, Simon Walk, Jan Pöschko
1Knowledge Management Institute, Graz University of Technology, Austria ; Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Stanford University, USA.
This study introduces methods to analyze social dynamics in collaborative ontology engineering. Understanding these processes is crucial for evaluating ontologies beyond their final product quality.
Area of Science:
- Semantic Technologies
- Knowledge Representation
- Social Dynamics in AI
Background:
- Current ontology evaluation primarily focuses on the final ontology product.
- Existing methods often overlook the collaborative processes and social dynamics involved in ontology creation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the hidden social dynamics within the ontology engineering process.
- To introduce novel measures for evaluating collaborative ontology construction.
- To shift focus from ontologies as static products to dynamic, iterative processes.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing historical change-log data from collaborative ontology engineering projects.
- Applying a set of measures to analyze social dynamics.
- Unveiling qualitative differences and commonalities between projects.
Main Results:
- Identified qualitative differences and commonalities in collaborative ontology engineering processes.
- Demonstrated the impact of social factors on ontology development.
- Highlighted the invisibility of social dynamics in traditional evaluation.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the process of ontology engineering, including social dynamics, is critical for comprehensive evaluation.
- Advocates for new evaluation techniques that view ontologies as dynamic, collaborative, and iterative processes.
- Suggests a move towards more holistic approaches in ontology evaluation.
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