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Re-Formalizing owl:sameas: Iterating Meaning-Making in a Computer Ontology Language
1Statistical and Data Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA.
Social Studies of Science
|March 21, 2026
Summary
Computer ontology languages, like OWL, use properties such as owl:sameAs to represent identity. This study analyzes how practitioners adapt these formal representations over time, influencing knowledge modeling practices.
Area of Science:
- Computer Science
- Knowledge Representation
- Ontology Engineering
Background:
- Ontology languages are crucial for machine-readable knowledge representation.
- The owl:sameAs property formalizes identity and sameness in online databases.
- Real-world application often deviates from initial specifications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform a cultural analysis of the owl:sameAs property in computer ontology languages.
- To examine the 're-formalizing practices' of practitioners adapting ontology specifications.
- To understand how social dynamics shape the evolution of formal knowledge representations.
Main Methods:
- Cultural analysis of the owl:sameAs property.
- Examination of community practices in revisiting ontology specifications.
- Analysis of social activities in confronting mutable formal representations.
Main Results:
- Re-formalizing practices can either stabilize logical properties or introduce fluidity in knowledge modeling.
- Practitioners' actions can decenter the original authors of ontology languages.
- Social understandings influence the enactment and iteration of property meaning and use over time.
Conclusions:
- Ontology languages shape representational possibilities.
- The meaning and application of ontology properties evolve through social interaction and practice.
- Understanding these dynamics is key to effective knowledge modeling and dissemination.
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