I agree with all that, John. My point was that it's not just a matter of
evaluation criteria. It's also the definition of the context and associated
scope in which the criterion might be applied, as well as the context and
associated scope in which the ontology might be applied. That's as opposed
to the notion that some criterion "Z" is always/universally an assessment
criterion for every possible ontology under every possible context. Maybe
there are such criteria, but I suspect that most assessment criteria are not
universally equally applicable to evaluating an ontology. (01)
Looking at both the assessment context and the contexts in which the
ontology in question is to be applied will provide a basis for deciding
which of the potential assessment/evaluation criteria, such as the types you
list below, are most appropriate in a given assessment context. "What
difference will it make" is a good question to ask in order to determine
whether a specific criterion makes sense for a given assessment or
application context attribute value range. Some criteria might be
universally applicable, i.e., a "core" set, while others will be appropriate
in specific assessment contexts and in specific application domain contexts. (02)
Hans (03)
-----Original Message-----
From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John F Sowa
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 10:12 PM
To: ontology-summit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] Ontology Summit 2013 (04)
On 12/7/2012 3:12 PM, Steve Ray Consulting wrote:
> That's one reason that ontology **evaluation** is a more focused topic... (05)
But focused on what? Any kind of comparison, including evaluation, implies
a criterion of some kind: "X is better than Y according to some criterion
Z." (06)
What criterion Z makes one ontology better than another?
What is the purpose of an ontology? Since this forum is devoted to computer
systems, I assume that we won't be evaluating ontologies as pure
philosophical theories. (07)
If we evaluate on the basis of size, then Cyc wins. If we're looking for
longevity, then Aristotle wins. What are the criteria? Popularity?
Usability? Reusability? Profitability? Flexibility? Modularity?
Accuracy? But accurate in comparison to what? (08)
For any kind of project, there is one fundamental question: Why?
If you get an answer that says X is better than Y for criterion Z, what
would you do with that answer? How would it guide your future behavior,
actions, or choices? What difference would it make? (09)
On 12/7/2012 9:11 PM, Hans Polzer wrote:
> A possible ontology assessment criterion along these lines might
> characterize the degree to which the ontology "plays nicely with others"
> or is oblivious to the existence of other ontologies - or attempts to
> subsume them all, depending on ontology scope (another assessment
> criteria set). (010)
Those are points to consider. But how do you define "plays nicely"?
And what does an ontology play with? Other ontologies? Some computer
system? Multiple systems? Languages? Artificial or Natural? (011)
Where does it come from? A repository? If you have more than one in a
repository, how do you chose which one is best for your purpose?
How do you define or determine purpose? (012)
What are you evaluating when you evaluate an ontology? And why? (013)
John (014)
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