The Role of Ontologies
Ontologies enable the unambiguous identification of entities in heterogeneous information systems and assertion of applicable named relationships that connect these entities together. Specifically, ontologies play the following roles:
- Content Explication
The ontology enables accurate interpretation of data from multiple sources through the explicit definition of terms and relationships in the ontology.
- Query Model
In some systems like SIMS, the query is formulated using the ontology as a global query schema.
- Verification
The ontology verifies the mappings used to integrate data from multiple sources. These mappings may either be user specified or generated by a system.
Read more about this topic: Ontology-based Data Integration
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