Principles and Practice of Big Data, 2nd Edition

5

Classifications and Ontologies

Abstract

Information has limited value unless it can take its place within our general understanding of the world. “How does this thing relate to that thing?” is often the central question of scientific efforts. Ontologies are formal systems that relate different information objects into classes and relate classes of information objects to other classes, often as a hierarchical lineage (i.e., classes that have superclasses and subclasses). Scientific analyses of large information resources can be greatly enhanced if every data object in the resource is positioned somewhere within a formal ontology. Using ontologies, scientists can determine whether observations on a single object will apply to other objects ...