The use of foundational ontologies in ontology development: an empirical assessment

Authors:
C. Maria Keet
Affiliations:
KRDB Research Centre, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy and School of Computer Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Venue:
ESWC'11 Proceedings of the 8th extended semantic web conference on The semantic web: research and applications - Volume Part I
Year:
2011

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Abstract

There is an assumption that ontology developers will use a top-down approach by using a foundational ontology, because it purportedly speeds up ontology development and improves quality and interoperability of the domain ontology. Informal assessment of these assumptions reveals ambiguous results that are not only open to different interpretations but also such that foundational ontology usage is not foreseen in most methodologies. Therefore, we investigated these assumptions in a controlled experiment. After a lecture about DOLCE, BFO, and partwhole relations, one-third chose to start domain ontology development with an OWLized foundational ontology. On average, those who commenced with a foundational ontology added more new classes and class axioms, and significantly less object properties than those who started from scratch. No ontology contained errors regarding part-of vs. is-a. The comprehensive results show that the 'cost' incurred spending time getting acquainted with a foundational ontology compared to starting from scratch was more than made up for in size, understandability, and interoperability already within the limited time frame of the experiment.