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Ontologies: principles, methods and applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Mike Uschold  and
Michael Gruninger
Mike Uschold
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute, (AIAI); The University of Edinburgh, 80 South Bridge, Edingburgh EHI IHN
Michael Gruninger
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S IA4, Canada
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Abstract

This paper is intended to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field concerned with the design and use of ontologies. We observe that disparate backgrounds, languages, tools and techniques are a major barrier to effective communication among people, organisations and/or software understanding (i.e. an “ontology”) in a given subject area, can improve such communication, which in turn, can give rise to greater reuse and sharing, inter-operability, and more reliable software. After motivating their need, we clarify just what ontologies are and what purpose they serve. We outline a methodology for developing and evaluating ontologies, first discussing informal techniques, concerning such issues as scoping, handling ambiguity, reaching agreement and producing definitions. We then consider the benefits and describe, a more formal approach. We re-visit the scoping phase, and discuss the role of formal languages and techniques in the specification, implementation and evalution of ontologies. Finally, we review the state of the art and practice in this emerging field, considering various case studies, software tools for ontology development, key research issues and future prospects.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Knowledge Engineering Review , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , June 1996 , pp. 93 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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