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The double role of ontologies in information science research

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  • Frederico Fonseca

Abstract

In philosophy, Ontology is the basic description of things in the world. In information science, an ontology refers to an engineering artifact, constituted by a specific vocabulary used to describe a certain reality. Ontologies have been proposed for validating both conceptual models and conceptual schemas; however, these roles are quite dissimilar. In this article, we show that ontologies can be better understood if we classify the different uses of the term as it appears in the literature. First, we explain Ontology (upper case O) as used in Philosophy. Then, we propose a differentiation between ontologies of information systems and ontologies for information systems. All three concepts have an important role in information science. We clarify the different meanings and uses of Ontology and ontologies through a comparison of research by Wand and Weber and by Guarino in ontology‐driven information systems. The contributions of this article are twofold: (a) It provides a better understanding of what ontologies are, and (b) it explains the double role of ontologies in information science research.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederico Fonseca, 2007. "The double role of ontologies in information science research," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 58(6), pages 786-793, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:58:y:2007:i:6:p:786-793
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.20565
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    Cited by:

    1. Alain Mouttham & Craig Kuziemsky & Dishant Langayan & Liam Peyton & Jose Pereira, 2012. "Interoperable support for collaborative, mobile, and accessible health care," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 73-85, March.
    2. Guan, Jian & Levitan, Alan S. & Kuhn, John R., 2013. "How AIS can progress along with ontology research in IS," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 21-38.
    3. Palash Bera & Andrew Burton-Jones & Yair Wand, 2014. "Research Note ---How Semantics and Pragmatics Interact in Understanding Conceptual Models," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 401-419, June.
    4. Robert Joseph Skovira, 2012. "Japanese Way, Western Way: Two Narratives of KnowledgeManagement," Knowledge and Learning: Global Empowerment; Proceedings of the Management, Knowledge and Learning International Conference 2012,, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia.
    5. Roger Clarke & Andrew Burton-Jones & Ron Weber, 2016. "On the Ontological Quality and Logical Quality of Conceptual-Modeling Grammars: The Need for a Dual Perspective," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 365-382, June.

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