Visualizing Scientists' Cognitive Representation of Materials Data through the Application of Ontology

The introduction of data science as a viable new approach to research has led toward the establishment of materials informatics. However, issues relating to the infrastructure of data collection and organization in materials science have hindered the development of materials informatics. Issues related to data quality, conflicting terminologies between subfields, and inconsistent recording practices make it difficult to share data and implement data science. Furthermore, one can consider that scientific discoveries have occurred via the rules that are unconsciously defined by the scientist's mind, which has made scientific discovery an unintentional process. Here, ontology is proposed as a new way to structure databases as well as model scientific understandings of data. By implementing ontology during the database creation process, it not only becomes possible to define and visualize the experiences and knowledge held by researchers but also provides a way of creating a field-wide standard of defining data, the ability to incorporate data semantics, a method to increase the solid choice of descriptors for determining the materials' properties, and the space to merge databases in a more interactive and coherent manner. Ontology can also help improve database management by providing a way to incorporate new scientific discoveries into existing databases, which can have a positive effect on the search for new materials and material design.